


Karissa Lambrini and the Relictae Charmer

by 7heoperator



Series: Karissa Lambrini [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: And They're Assholes, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad Jokes, Betrayal, Bic Lighter That Makes People Go Crazy If They Look At It, Blood and Injury, Borderline Personality Disorder, Catholic Guilt, Complicated Relationships, Damsels in Distress, Egan Did Nothing Wrong, Emotional Manipulation, Epic Battles, Exploding Soup, F/F, F/M, Fastest Guy In Camp, Grief/Mourning, Implied Sexual Content, Lying About Being Amish, Magical Frappucino, Mutual Pining, Original Character-centric, Past Child Abuse, Plot Twists, Politics, Revolutionaries, Shitty Parent Misgenders Their Kid, Short-Lived Horror Moments, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Rivalry, Slow Burn, Snoopy The Dog Beats Connor Stoll's Ass, Stealing A Church Van, Suicidal Thoughts, Trans Male Character, Useless Lesbians, Weird Plot Shit, You Don't Want To Know What The Honey Does, the gods are real
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 19:21:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 39,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21613864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/7heoperator/pseuds/7heoperator
Summary: Karissa, a headstrong Aphrodite daughter, goes on an adventure with her friends.
Relationships: Connor Stoll/Original Character(s), Original Female Character/Original Female Character
Series: Karissa Lambrini [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1557751
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. Prepare To Be Underwhelmed

**Author's Note:**

> So, this story is a collaboration between my S/O and I. She came up with the character of Karissa when she was about twelve, and that was a very long time ago. Karissa, being a twelve year old's OC, was very overpowered, very gung-ho, and super gorgeous.
> 
> We decided to change none of these things. We kept the Mary Sue and just put her in the middle of a complex story we thought would challenge her character anyway. We even kept her cheesy romantic pairing with a canonical character, which was of course also come up with many years ago when my S/O was twelve. 
> 
> Since telling a serious story with this not-as-serious character is our premise, some story or character elements might be a little tongue-in-cheek at first. But both the plot and characters of this story have been labored over lovingly for some time, and I hope you read through the cheesiness we open with long enough to get to the depth we've both worked so hard on. 
> 
> Expect lots of jokes. Expect lots of angst. Expect minor characters from canon taking the spotlight, while major characters either stay in the background or don't appear at all. 
> 
> Expect a final product well-over one hundred and fifty thousand words. 
> 
> And then expect two more installments in this series. 
> 
> ...Also, this is my very first time writing a fan fiction. Please go easy on me. Thanks.

Five years had passed since the Battle of Manhattan, and the first two years of relative quiet that the camp had had in ten. Percy Jackson's deal with the gods was old news. Now people were beginning to understand its real repercussions. Adult half-bloods well into their twenties, thirties, even forties were claimed in the weeks following the battle. For many of them, the emblem floating above their head was their first experience with anything having to do with Gods or magic (save for rare monster attacks they luckily evaded over the years). These were the half-bloods that had slipped past the demigod camps for years. Feral demigods were far more common than anyone had thought. Before Gods claiming their mortal children became mandatory, it was impossible to say how many demigods went undiscovered.

Now there were roughly a thousand, that they were aware of.

Officials from Camp Jupiter found them before anyone else. They dubbed them ‘relictae', Latin for ‘the abandoned'- a term that quickly gained wider use.

At first, the official procedure was to bring all relictae to New Rome. Many of the relictae were overwhelmed and terrified of the city. They fled back to their old lives at the earliest opportunity. Monster attacks were nothing compared to being thrown head first into an entirely new world.Before this, a demigod not claimed before adulthood would likely never be claimed at all. Especially if they had never been found by their own kind, continuing to live normal lives.

No one in the Greek or Roman world was fully equipped to ease grown adults into the change. Roman senators realized child demigods were infinitely better at taking the news than their adult counterparts, who already had established identities and lives they were being asked to leave behind. Long-held religions they weren’t sure whether they would need to give up on.

In the face of this, officials at both camps agreed a smaller setting would be more comfortable for the relictae than a bustling magical city. Camp Halfblood and Camp Jupiter began encouraging campers who had been there for years to remain at camp for some time into adulthood- to mentor relictae in their early to mid twenties who would be coming in as ‘assistant counsellors’. Even the youngest campers could tell they knew more about the world of being a half-blood than even the smartest of their new relictae neighbors.

They also knew that this was the point.

The demigod camps would be a safe, comparatively quiet space for young experienced demigods to passively show young adult relictae how to cope and adapt to their new lives.

In the meantime, Gods and camp officials alike tried to figure out what to do with the much older relictae.

The new ‘campers’ made for new tensions at Camp Halfblood, but most days, the Aphrodite cabin was an ideally soothing place to wake up. Sure the startling abundance of hot pink was jarring, but the perfumed air was warm and never smelled artificial. The mornings typically began in whispers, and then the hum of hair dryers and polite debate about which jacket best paired with which pants. It was a Barbie house of siblings scrambling to prepare for the day, if you could call it scrambling. Beautiful people standing tall and walking in dignified struts to finely carved chests with their names painted on in real gold leaf. One could hear girls pulling out scrunchies and makeup brushes while the boys pulled out colognes and larger makeup brushes. The cabin rang with the occasional screech of two teens fighting over the same article of clothing, the hushed giggles of valuable gossip. That was most days.

Today, Karissa woke up to silence.

That is, save for the gorgeous young Latina woman sitting on the foot of her bed. She eyed Karissa with a smile and a single raised eyebrow. Her hair was long. She had most of it held up in a bun with the remaining hair still running halfway down her back. Her face was narrow and soft, plump lips painted pink. She was short, but slim- five foot at the most, with skin a light brown. She wore what looked like an ankle-length dress of white and red frills that shifted like wind when she moved. Upon closer inspection though, the 'dress' was actually a coat. Her camp T-shirt beneath it had been rolled up into a crop top that only displayed the camp’s name and the top half of the Pegasus. Her shoes were too ornate to be appropriate for camp, and her hair bun was pierced by more hair pins than was necessary- each one designed to look like a beautiful rose. She nudged Karissa’s leg. “Ey, I talked the others into letting you sleep in since yesterday was so weird for you. But if you don’t get up now you’re going to miss breakfast.” She poked Karissa’s side as an annoying sister would, jabbing her right between the ribs. “Come on. Drew convinced everyone to go ahead without you.”

The young Latina woman rolled her eyes and slipped off the bed onto her feet. “Sister, we can’t just sleep through today. Come on girl.” She walked over to one of the two beds neighboring Karissa’s and pulled out the wooden chest beneath it. The chest was royal purple with 'Valentina' emblazoned on its lid in shining golden cursive. She removed a handful of jewelry from the chest. “I’m not going to miss out on my first meal of the day because of you.” Valentina said. She put on a reasonably sized pair of gold hoop earrings and replaced the jewelry in the multiple helix piercings she had in each ear. “I know those old nurse shoes aren’t a thing around here anymore, but I’ll dig them up and shove them on you if me and your giraffe ass aren’t out that door with the rest of the cabin in the next few minutes.”. Her tone was chiding, but more playful than anything. She put on a simple black band bracelet as a finishing touch.

  
Karissa looked up from her covers, a piercing green glare meeting her sister’s. “Then go without me. I’ll catch up.” She buried her face, leaving a tangled mess of black and pink hair poking out from beneath her blankets.

Valentina shot Karissa the same glare. “Or I could go grab my clarinet and wake you up like that.” Valentina walked to the opposite side of the cabin and spoke louder so she could be heard: “So Mr. D’s pissed, it’s not that big a deal. We all know it’s just some prank.”

Dionysus had recently returned to camp for the first time since he was called back to Olympus for the Second Giant War. Many of the younger campers had never met him before when he showed up again. They were told it was to finish the last few years of his now shortened sentence, and to help things run smoothly while the camp adjusts to the arrival of the relictae.

None of the campers really believed any of that.

Valentina walked back toward Karissa and handed her a bracelet matching her own. Valentina’s voice took on a tender quality. “We’ll get through his weird little interrogation, and then spend the rest of the day looking fabulous by the lakeside.” Valentina sat down on her own bed just beside Karissa’s. “Just relax, okay? There’s no way it was anyone from our cabin. It’s nuts he’s even pulling us in like this.” Valentina pulled a bag of cranberries from inside her flowery, flowing coat. “I’m telling you” she said with a mouth full of dried cranberries, “It was one of the Hermes kids. Connor’s too old for this kind of stuff now, but we all know he’s still got it in him.” Valentina stood and began prodding Karissa again. “Put on the bracelet and a brave face. We’re facing the world. C’mon. Up. I am a full foot shorter than you and I will still drag you if you make me.”

Karissa raised a middle finger at Valentina, showing a perfectly manicured stiletto nail. Then she slowly sat up. “Give me ten minutes.” She said, pushing her tangled hair out of her face.

Of course it took her twenty.

Karissa was six feet and three inches of sculpted curves and heavily toned muscles. Her skin was naturally pale, but her time at camp had left it sunkissed. She had strong cheekbones, plump lips, and a powerful square jaw. Her wavy, luscious black hair went down to the small of her back. Her hair was dyed so that it faded into a stronger shade of pink the further down it got, so that the lower half was almost completely pink. Aphrodite’s children were known for, perhaps above all else, their exceptional beauty.

She stepped out of the cabin, dressed simply in high waisted denim shorts with her camp shirt tucked in. Her hair was brushed back. By Karissa’s standards, she looked like hell. “Alright, let’s go.”

“Better book it. Cabin nine can totally see us from here and we’re looking ten out of ten instead of eleven out of ten. Next time I won’t let you sleep in.” Valentina said before she began on the short trek to the dining pavilion.

One couldn’t help but wonder whether Valentina was technically even allowed to wear those garish red shoes. Is that a little bit of extra heel? They were far from combat ideal.

A thin, lanky boy with a mop of curly hair ran up from the Aphrodite table toward Karissa as she and Valentina stepped up to the dining pavilion. He had a strong jaw. He was handsome, but had no muscle to him..and his looks were a bit hard to notice given how awkward he was. He stopped them in front of the bronze brazier holding the flame at the pavilion’s center before they could reach their table.

“Okay, uh. Well. See. I was wondering. Do you know what all this is about?” He stammered out. His shyness came across as cute, but an Aphrodite child’s timidness could hardly come across as anything else.

“You mean breakfast? It’s the most important meal of the day, Mitchell. We’ve discussed this.” Valentina said in an extremely sarcastic tone, playing dumb and poking fun at her brother.

“I’m serious!” Mitchell said in a stage whisper. “All I know is Mr. D’s back early and he’s not happy about it. Sounds like some really official business. He hates it here, so it’s got…got. It’s gotta be something big for him to come back willingly, right?” Mitchell’s panicked gaze switched from Valentina to Karissa.

“He only asked for a couple campers to see him. This isn’t rubbing me right.” Mitchell said. Valentina pushed past Mitchell gently, and actually tried to console him. “I’m sure Piper’s got it all handled.” Valentina said.

“She isn’t telling me anything! I don’t know if she knows any more than we do.” Mitchell said before he grabbed Karissa by the wrist. “You’re a distant legacy of Ares, right? You gotta have some sense for when things are getting bad, right?” he asked Karissa.

Valentina rolled her eyes and gestured for Karissa to ignore their shared brother and follow to the table. Mitchell looked at Karissa, unnerved.

Karissa yanked her hand back. “I don’t know- I don’t think I feel anything off.” She said, showing on her face that she was judging her half-brother for violating her personal space.

Mitchell caught sight of her expression and shriveled, releasing her. “Well. If you say so then…Okay.” He slunk his way back to the table. Valentina let out an exasperated sigh and looked at Karissa with one eyebrow raised as if to say ‘can you believe that guy?’.

Valentina sat down at the Aphrodite table. She left an open space between herself and a girl absolutely covered in freckles, where Karissa sat.

The girl looked to be about sixteen. Her hair was held up in a ponytail by a beautiful jewel scrunchy. It was one of her younger sisters, Lacy. She smiled at Karissa, and Karissa noticed that she’d switched her braces out for a transparent retainer. Good for her- she'd had those braces on for the better part of a decade.

The dining pavilion was no longer quite full- most of the tables had three or four campers still eating, with many members of each cabin having already cleared their plates and continued their day elsewhere. Only the Aphrodite table sat totally full. A handful of campers in the pavilion seemed to have their eyes set on the Aphrodite table, perhaps trying to eavesdrop. Piper took a deep breath in. She’d finished eating long ago. Her face became stern on the exhale. “Everyone here?”

Piper was among the only counsellors from the second gigantomachy to take the offer to remain at camp, but other war heroes would visit occasionally to teach a class or mentor one-on-one with the less experienced half-bloods.

Drew Tanaka was the only person who looked even less pleased to be there than Karissa. She wore a pair of heart shaped red sunglasses and a pink jacket with a large glittery ‘D’ emblazoned on its back. She’d given up on her trademark ponytail some years ago, and it wasn’t the biggest change she’d managed to make.

Karissa focused on her plate, pushing her food around with her fork. She didn’t eat, just waited to find out whatever the hell was going on.

Piper pursed her lips as the silence lingered for an awkward length of time. Drew was the first to break it. “Piper, darling, you’ve been stringing us along for days now. Spill.” She pointed her fork at Piper before stabbing it into her mashed potatoes.

This kind of childishness had been out of character for Drew for some time. She and Piper had actually become quite close after the death of Jason Grace, but Piper had noticed that being around Karissa seemed to flip some switch for Drew. They simply brought out the worst in each other.

Piper didn’t want to encourage Drew’s reversion to her old ways by dignifying the comment with a response. On the other hand, it definitely was time to ‘spill’.

“Yesterday me and three of the other counselors were brought to the big house to talk about why Dionysus was here.” Piper announced. Valentina put her elbows on the table to lean closer to Piper, in the hopes of hearing better. Piper continued. “They told me it was need-to-know, but that ten campers would be interviewed by Chiron and Dionysus today to try and figure out the details behind some incident.” Piper hated playing the adult in this situation. The one who has to hide things from others on the promise that she knows best for them. It made her think of Hera. She always hated people who made excuses like that, but not as much as she hated being that person herself.

“Somebody dye all his leopard print fabrics pink or something?” Drew said while filing her nails. Karissa had always thought that Drew only agreed to remain at camp into adulthood because she never bothered to learn how to survive outside. Everyone turned to glare at Drew for a moment, before the freckle-covered girl with the sunshine colored hair spoke up. “Which ten?” Lacy asked. Piper rattled off the list plainly: “Two boys from the Hermes cabin. Connor’s one. One of the Ares boys. Three girls from the Hecate cabin, and the new girl.”

Lacy leaned in to whisper in Karissa’s ear. “New girl's a Harmonia daughter.” Lacy turned to look both ways, as if making sure they were alone. She kept talking even though they weren’t. “And a relictae. People say she’s even more of a loner than the others!” Lacy murmured scandalously.

The mention of the relictae made Karissa a bit uncomfortable. Being newly twenty and having been at camp for four years, Karissa was one of the people expected to show the relictae the ropes and make them feel at home in exchange for staying at camp. She would’ve rather shaved her head than actually hold up her side of the agreement.

“Lacy.” Piper chided. The girl with the ponytail flinched at the sound of her name and looked a little ashamed of herself. Piper let it slide without further comment.

Piper didn’t like to be the authoritative type. This was her family. “And three of us. Myself, Karissa and Drew.” Drew slammed her nail file onto the table. “The fuck?” she spat out.

Karissa was wide awake now. “What? Are you serious?!” Her anger seemed to fume even worse than Drew’s.

Drew gestured toward her own chest. “I have never done anything wrong in my life, first of all. And Clarissa-“ Drew gestured toward Karissa. “Hasn’t done anything interesting since she got here, let alone pull some dumbass prank on a god!” Drew complained dramatically.

Karissa turned her attention to Drew. “I’d be careful there. You wouldn’t want to make an enemy.”

A few of the half-bloods at neighboring tables rolled their eyes at Karissa and Drew's dramatics, while others looked tense.

Piper stood up and spoke at a normal volume instead of the hushed tone she’d been speaking in so far. “Listen. They’re talking to campers they think might’ve seen something. If we make more of a fuss than the other cabins then they’ll just get more suspicious of us.” Piper knew herself to be the most insulted of the three of them. She’d done a great deal for this camp. For Dionysus personally, too. For them to cast doubt on her over something so small and petty hurt, but she wasn’t interested in letting that show.

Valentina put a hand on Karissa’s arm and looked up at her with compassion. “Karissa. Just sit down for a bit. Piper knows what she's talking about. Don’t get too fiery on me.” Valentina spoke in a tone more sincere than she had earlier that morning.

Karissa rested her hand on Valentina’s arm for comfort, and in acknowledgment of her kind words. “When are they interviewing us?” Karissa asked, her eyes now focused on Piper.

Drew narrowed her eyes at Karissa, but she looked anything but menacing. She held the stare too long and squinted her eyes to the point that it looked silly. Drew started to speak. “Bi-“

“Before noon, but I don’t know how long the interviews will take or whether they’ll do the cabins in order. So if we go last, there’s no knowing.” Piper interrupted.

“Can you at least tell us what’s going on before we go?” Karissa asked, a poorly restrained rage underlining every word.

“I don’t know. All I know is that something of his was taken.”

After Piper said that, the table became quiet. Even Drew had an expression of realization on her face. Realization that this wasn’t as goofy a situation as she’d assumed. Mitchell was tapping his fingers on the table out of anxiety. The children of Aphrodite finished their meals one by one and headed in separate directions to begin the day’s activities. Only Valentina and the three to be interviewed remained at the table.

“Our reputation is bad enough with one traitor already on our permanent record.” Drew spat out. She was wrong; the Aphrodite cabin wasn’t viewed any differently for what Selena had done- but Drew made any excuse to dig into that old wound.

“Oh gods, did you really just say that?” Karissa demanded. Neither of them had ever met Selena, but her memory lived on at camp. “You realize she saved everyone, right?”

Drew leaned back and rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Whatever you guys tell yourselves to help your pride.” She stood up and wandered off. “I need a sparkling cider.” She bellowed.

Piper appeared so zoned-out that she may not have heard the entire dispute between the two of them. Chiron could be seen in the distance approaching Drew, and they stopped to speak to one another with none of the conversation audible to Karissa. Drew looked nervous, even from a distance. Chiron led her in the general direction of the big house. Piper noticeably grimaced, giving away that she had been paying attention after all.

“Why aren’t you angry?” Karissa asked. She knew Piper had a history of stealing, but that was from mortals. She knew that Piper had put that behind her. And even if she hadn’t, Karissa knew her well enough to know she’d never take anything this serious.

Anyone near enough to Piper could hear the sound of skin tightening around metal and leather. Piper had been squeezing her knife’s handle beneath the table ever since she sat back down nearly an hour ago. “Because I shouldn’t be angry about this in front of them. Mitchell was ready to scratch his own skin off from stress.” Piper explained. “When we’re facing a common enemy it’s different. But with camp officials..” She simply closed her eyes and let the silence fill the rest of the sentence’s meaning for her.

Karissa finally stood from the table. “I’ll be in the combat arena.” She said before storming off. Valentina stood up to say something, but Piper hand waved her to sit back down.

“Let her process this her own way.” Piper said to Valentina.

Karissa had to get her anger under control before she spoke to Chiron and Mr. D. As soon as she reached the arena, she went to hacking at the dummies. This was a chance to let her emotions fuel her actions. Keeping even a mild grip on her temper was a strenuous day to day effort for Karissa, and the dummies were cheaper than therapy.

Sometimes her rage could be a tool, giving her immense stamina, but she also tired quickly. Demigod adrenaline crash had almost gotten her killed once before.

She cried out in triumph and stabbed her sword straight through the dummy’s head. She used her foot to push it to the ground as she yanked her sword back out.

A man with wavy short locks of dark brown hair bit very loudly into an apple. He leaned against the wall casually. No- he leaned against the wall putting great effort into trying to look casual. He gave her a smirk and a wink as he chewed the apple, blue eyes contrasting the sand colored wall behind him. His limbs were long, thin- but he was muscular enough that his camp T-shirt looked two sizes too small. His jeans were rolled up to cuff just above his knees.

“Wow. You're really into that. Like a dancer. A towering dancer.” He said, humorously feigning awe. “Fighting's a lot of the same, you know. You just have to find a groove.” He blatantly interrupted her brutal attack by leaning on the dummy she had just stabbed. “You know…A rhythm.” He did that trick where he made the apple go up his arm, across his shoulders and down his other arm- before holding the apple out to her. “Eh?”

She looked at him with an annoyed expression. This was meant to be her private time.

She had to admit she liked the compliments, and the way his eyes settled on her. This was a reaction she got often from men. Even when it got in her way, she couldn’t help but relish in it. She took the apple from him and took a bite.

“Can I help you with something?” She said.

His lips puckered and shrunk in surprise. For a moment his pupils were so wide as to hide the blue in his eyes. He wasn’t expecting her to actually take it.

His advances didn't usually get him this far. He regained his composure. “Well, I just thought I’d learn from the best. We aren’t really known for our swordsmanship in cabin eleven.” He hoped being overt in his flirtations would make her laugh- because if he knew how to read people at all, laughter was his way onto her good side.

“I’m thinking if I play my cards right I might end up a little differently than this fellow here.” He tapped the helmet of the dummy Karissa had been attacking. The weak blunt strike was all it took to make it collapse into pieces. He stepped away and looked down at what remained of it. She’d done more of a number on it than he'd thought.

He snapped out of it and took a step or two closer to Karissa. “How about you teach me to do that, and if you ever need something unlocked you can call me u-”

She was quick, and in a moment she had him pinned against the nearest pillar with her sword at his throat.

He breathed heavily for a moment in surprise.

“Sorry Stoll, but I don’t think you could keep up.” Karissa said with fake pity.

“Well, if you keep jumping me against walls, keeping up won't be a problem for me I can promise you that.” He bumped her elbow with his own and swerved to the side opposite her arm at a speed few others besides an experienced Hermes child could achieve.

“Trust me.” Connor said from just behind Karissa.

He brushed his hair aside with his fingers. “Fastest guy in camp.” He boasted.

“That why you can't get a date?” Drew yelled across the arena as she entered.

Karissa couldn’t help but crack up a little. Dammit. Now Drew would hold it over her head that she laughed at one of her jokes. “You kinda walked right into that one, Stoll.”

“Wine dude wants you.” Drew yelled to Karissa before turning to leave.

Karissa shoved Connor down and ignored Drew as she made her way to the big house.

Karissa was sat down on an indoor bench on the wall opposite the door to Chiron’s office, where she sat for some time before being ushered in to a small office with storage pushed off to one side.

Chiron sat in his wheelchair behind his desk. A screen was lowered behind him with a projector across the room pointed at it- but he had just left these things out after showing the orientation video to some new young camper. Dionysus sat in a leather lounge chair beside Chiron’s desk, likely pulled here from the Rec Room. The room was covered in various stray piles of paperwork, and a record player that has only ever been used to play horrific Italian opera. Chiron’s opera is one of the camp’s deadliest defenses.

“Miss Lambrini.” Chiron said in his trademark deep, scholarly voice. Karissa had done more than one impression of him over the years.

Dionysus sat sipping from a mug, not even bothering to look at Karissa.

“Dionysus has had a personal possession of his stolen, an item of significant value to him.” Chiron paused to allow this to sink in. “Dionysus has had his Thyrsus stolen.”

“And why exactly am I here? I didn’t steal anything.” Karissa said. She took a deep breath, trying to keep her cool. She’d already blown up once at Dionysus in the month he’d been here. She ended up spending the rest of the day as a dandelion. She’d been spitting out seeds for a week.

“Wow, she says she didn’t do it. Guess we need to let this one loose.” Dionysus said as he took a swig. Chiron rubbed his temples in silent irritation at Karissa’s stubbornness and Dionysus’s sarcasm both.

“You are one of the campers at Camp Half-blood most well-equipped to steal such an item.” Chiron looked Karissa in the eyes with the look that a school principal would give a student. “Our camp’s children of Hermes have speed, influence, sons and daughters of the god of thieves. Those in the Hecate cabin are capable of manipulating the mist to cast illusions, construct false memories. And you and two others in the Aphrodite cabin have exhibited ‘charm speak’, which would enable you to simply walk in and request they give you the Thyrsus.” Chiron paused. Dionysus eyed Karissa, staring daggers.

“To call this a serious offense would be an understatement. We are simply fleshing out who may be aware of what became of the thyrsus.” finished Chiron.

Karissa tugged lightly at the ends of her long hair. “Okay yeah, but I didn’t do it.” Her temperature was rising.. “And neither did Piper. Besides, what reason would someone have for stealing it?”

“Watch yourself.” Something flickered beneath Dionysus’s eyes. Not visibly- but Karissa could feel it pulsing there. “That thyrsus is worth more than you and Pepper put together. I can name thousands of people who’d kill for it, give all they have for it. And that’s just mortals. I’ve still got plenty of worshipers.”

“Seeds from that Thyrsus can grow in any climate. Completely sustainable farming. Would be worth billions if the mortals got their mitts on it. And the honey that flows from it-” He looked at her with one eye falling a bit lazy. “You don’t want to know what the honey does.”

Karissa’s mind immediately ran through a list of all the disgusting things the honey could potentially do. “And why would I give a sh- crap- about farming? I’ve already told you it wasn’t me. Can I go now?”

Chiron opened his mouth to point out how defensive Karissa was becoming, but was interrupted.

“Yes, you can go.” Said Dionysus, smiling so pleasantly it was unnerving.

“Great. Good luck figuring out who did it.” Karissa said, shooting one more hard glance at Mr D. before standing up and carelessly knocking over the folding chair she’d been sitting in.

“Oh, one more thing- Just a formality really, right before you head out.” Dionysus said casually, in an artificially chipper tone. “We have someone else here we think would like to talk to you.” He continued.

Karissa’s expression turned to one of confusion. She crossed her arms, clearly not happy with the delay. “Alright. Who?”

A woman entered the office through the door that Karissa had just opened to leave. “Ah, my bad- excuse me.” She pushed her way past Karissa as politely as she could manage, and sat down on the side of Chiron’s desk opposite Dionysus.

She wore flared cuff jeans that went out of style fifty years ago. She looked to be Karissa’s age- a year older at the most. She wore a deep green top with a cut that screamed ‘nineties’. It was the same shade of deep green as her eyes. She was dressed like a hippie, and her jeans had splattered paint stains in a variety of colors. Pale ivory skin, nose and cheekbones dotted with dozens upon dozens of soft freckles- and voluminous tightly curled red hair cascading down her shoulders and back. She waved quickly, meekly- like she was anxious about being here. She looked tired. “Always nice to fly in to help.” she said.

Dionysus smiled from ear to ear. Karissa wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him smile before.

“We’d like it if we could ask you one or two more questions with Rihanna here.” He said.

“Rachel.” The woman whispered. Dionysus pretended not to hear.

Karissa wondered whether Rachel had been brought in to help interview the others, or if they saved this just for her.

“Alright. Go for it.” Karissa said as she took her seat again, her hands gripping the armrests of her chair tightly.

Rachel approached Karissa, sensing her discomfort- not as an oracle would, but as another person would. She softened her eyes and smiled a barely noticeable smile, crouching down so that her face was just a few feet above the floor. She reached out for Karissa’s hand. “May I?” Dionysus chimed in. “Takes a lot to trigger anything important from oracles. Figure touching the flesh of a God thief might do it.”

Karissa nodded at the other woman. “Well then prepare to be underwhelmed.”

Karissa heard a weapon in the room. Not wielded- but present on someone’s person. She knew that noise. A knife sheathed, hanging at someone’s hip. It was no one she could see. Dionysus had to know as well, being a God, right? It was not an extremely large room. If he saw no threat, it likely wasn’t anything for her to worry about. Rachel took Karissa’s hand. “…You’re not as rough around the edges as everyone thinks you are, are you? You-“ Rachel’s eyes glazed over with a milky sheen, foggy liquid swirling inside her eyes as her mouth hung agape.

The veins in Rachel’s skin became more pronounced as green smoke released from the cuffs of her extremely unstylish jeans. Rachel staggered backward and grabbed onto Chiron’s desk for balance as her eyes went from a milky glaze to a softly glowing green. She spoke with a dozen voices that were not her own.

LOVE'S GREATEST FAVOURED DIED ALONE  
RETURNS TO CAST DOUBT ON THE THRONE  
EARTH MOTHER’S WARNING SEWS DISCORD’S WIN  
SEES RECOMPENSE FOR PARIS’ SIN  
IF ANCIENT SKY SATES FAVOURED’S THIRST  
THAN FREE THE MIND BLACK WATERS CURSED  
LEST STARVING GODS NATIONS CONDEMN  
AND SHE SEES FIT TO SWALLOW THEM

Rachel collapsed against Chiron’s desk, slipping off it and onto the hardwood floor. Piper, wielding the knife Karissa noticed, slid out of her hiding place behind the clutter of the office to rush to Rachel’s side.

Karissa looked from the oracle on the floor, to her cabin leader, to Chiron, and finally to Mr D. “What the hell is going on? I didn’t do anything!”

Dionysus’s face fell. He was no longer smiling, and he looked- like Piper and Chiron also- like the words of the prophecy were weighing heavily on him. Rachel lay limp on the floor until Piper hoisted her into a sitting position. Piper looked to Karissa with worry and confusion in her eyes- with sympathy. Chiron closed his eyes and winced at Karissa’s protestations as if they physically pained him. The door behind Karissa had remained open since Rachel had entered the room. On the bench in the hall two women who had yet to be interviewed stared in awe at what they had just witnessed. A prudish girl ogled Karissa in scandalized shock while the other hid most of her face behind her arms.

The latter of the two women, Hedera, was the next to be interviewed.


	2. Local Goth Actually Leaves Her Cabin

“We probably should have seen this coming.” Lou Ellen in a ‘NORMAL PEOPLE SCARE ME’ tank top said to Hedera later that day in the Hecate cabin.

Lou Ellen’s sleek hair fell down in a few crimps and waves. Today, her hair resting on her shoulders looked like someone had spilled dark purple ink- but Lou Ellen changed her hair color with some frequency. Her hair had been blue only a week before. Hedera suspected that Lou Ellen only manipulated the Mist to make the color appear to change, instead of ever actually dying it. None of the other half-bloods at camp would be experienced enough to see through it- at least not without way more effort than it was worth.

Lou Ellen’s lips didn’t stretch far across her face, looking perpetually puckered into what was almost the shape of a heart. Lou Ellen scooted her butt (clad in fluffy bat pajama pants) across the cushioned bench to sit closer to Hedera.

The small room’s only lights were the torches hanging from each wall. Elaborate sigils were slathered onto seemingly random surfaces, painted onto the stone bricks of the interior walls and carved into the furniture. “It being an Aphrodite camper I mean. Their stepford smiles and their cult of personality make them think they can get away with anything.” Hedera’s sister said matter-of-factly. “It’s nothing against Piper. She’s trying to corral a bunch of narcissists, you know? That can’t be easy.” Lou Ellen’s lips made a simmering and popping noise like boiling oil as they released a thin veil of green fog. The small puff of distortion quickly faded and revealed that she was no longer wearing her black lipstick and eyeliner. “Mist makeup. Takes practice, but if you ever want to learn I can walk you through it.” Lou Ellen offered.

Hedera was of a much darker complexion than not only Lou Ellen, but of her other sisters. She had a lovely brown skin tone with hints of orange. Hedera was the shortest adult in the cabin at 5’2, and stouter than her sisters. Hedera’s face was long with far set amber eyes and a long, thin bridged nose. She wore a simple short sleeved dark red dress with a formal black collar, ornately patterned stockings and flat black mary jane shoes. Hedera didn’t like to dress with a lot of flare. She didn’t like to draw attention to herself in general.

The dress snugly hugged her pair-shaped frame, her wide hips and thighs. Her forest green micro braids went halfway down her back and draped over her chest, with a number of them tied up into two sizable space buns at the top of her head. Hedera’s eyes were sagely and gentle. Her lips were plump, but her smile was small and shy. And when Hedera looked up from her leather bound journal, Lou Ellen couldn’t help but think that she looked a bit like a mouse. “You looked nice, but I’ll pass.” Hedera told Lou Ellen with a polite squeak of a voice.

Hedera’s attention went back to her journal, writing notes as she spoke. “This whole thing seems super off though, and honestly I’m surprised a child of Aphrodite is responsible. I don’t see what motive she could have, she probably doesn’t even understand what it does.” Hedera closed her book and stashed it away in the trunk at the foot of her bed. “But I do. It’s the ultimate tool of revelry.” She added.

Lou Ellen reclined, stretching her legs out in front of her and leaned her back against the wall. “They can’t do anything to punish her until they know where she’s hiding it, I don’t think. What if we tried to divine our way to that information? Or at least did some real research about the thrysus’s uses over the years. And try to dig up more dirt on Barbie.” Lou Ellen shot out ideas. There were at least four different Aphrodite girls that Lou Ellen referred to as ‘Barbie’. Karissa was one of them.

“We could try to ask mom.” Lou Ellen said in a voice that made it clear that even she thought the idea was a little ridiculous.

“She never answers, but this is kind of a big deal. She’d jump at the chance to put us ahead in the eyes of the camp. I bet whoever finds that thyrsus and proves the little lady is two-faced gets in the god’s good graces for a while.” Lou Ellen thought out loud.

Hedera might have been the oldest of the cabin’s residents at twenty-one, but there was good reason a nineteen-year-old Lou Ellen was still in charge. She was arguably the wisest of them. She’d been the only Hecate child to go totally against their mother’s wishes and side with Olympus during the battle of Manhattan. Lou had actually left camp to go to college in New Rome a few years ago but even then she returned to run the Hecate cabin every summer.

Ever since the Relictae came to camp, Lou Ellen had been back again. Mentoring Relictae counted for college-credit, and she had been waiting for an excuse to come back and help her youngest siblings along in life.

All throughout the small stone-brick room, the light began to distort and warp in the silhouettes of objects. Barely visible green fog burst forth from a dozen different locations across the floor, and on top of dressers. When all the light and magic had dispersed Hedera could see the room was covered in far more clutter than before.

Bird bones, candles, burnt incense sticks, a dozen different decks of tarot cards, small cauldrons and jars filled with unknown herbs and liquids. The floor was strewn with sheets of parchment covered in messy cursive and illustrations for spell instruction. Every flat surface seemed to have at least one crystal, jagged amethyst and lapis and onyx. Hanging from the ceiling were chains holding up sculptures of ravens and moons and ornate three-dimensional symbols. On the table directly in front of the two of them was a crystal ball, a few crushed cans of green tea and a wide array of cannabis paraphernalia, including about six grams.

Lou Ellen looked embarrassed.

“I thought that would last longer. I must be getting rusty.”

Lou Ellen had manipulated the Mist earlier that day to hide the vast majority of the cabin’s messes, contraband, and personal belongings- as the cabins had been under inspection.

With the cabin back in its natural state Hedera could relax in the familiar clutter. The mess had a certain organized quality to it that Hedera and few others could understand. If they were to clean, she wouldn’t know where anything was anymore.

Hedera stood up from the couch and walked to the other end of the room. A stone wall folded inward in several places, revealing a bed and bedside table in the now slightly expanded room. Hedera laid down on her bed with a focused look in her eyes.

Hedera’s bedside table and the shelf above were covered with various plants. She would convert the wall above her bed into a window whenever they needed more light. Hedera was a distant Demeter legacy, and found that working with plants was the witchcraft she was most comfortable with. Most were herbs, and many were poisonous. More than one was contraband- mostly magical plants that were thought too dangerous to keep in the cabins, but her cannabis was also among them. Hedera grew it, her half-sister Morgan would get it to a few people in the Hermes cabin to sell, and Hedera didn't know much about where it went after that. Just that the Apollo and Hypnos cabins were the primary buyers. They probably put it to medicinal use.

Hedera had actually been relieved when she learned this wasn’t actually what Chiron and Dionysus interviewing her was about. She wouldn’t have been able to come up with a lie. One of the Hermes boys claimed to have sold to Dionysus at one point, but Hedera wasn’t sure she believed that. Even if it did fall under the god’s domain.

“When was the last time we all tried to contact mom together?” Hedera asked, laying back against the covers and turning to glance at her sisters. “I know she hasn’t replied yet, but she might listen if we all work our magic together.” She said optimistically.

A silence fell over the cabin. Lou Ellen looked skeptical, and a few other girls turned to look at each other with concern. The last time they’d all tried a spell together it hadn’t gone so well. Magic can be tricky business when working with others, especially if everyone’s intentions lie in different places.

The cabin was divided into four separate rooms of equal size, though their size and arrangement could be altered with ease by magically shifting the stones. Furniture could be built and deconstructed in seconds, and pre-set room arrangements could be switched out at a moment’s notice. The door to one of the neighboring compartments opened, revealing a young girl who looked around twelve.

She wore a black southern gothic dress, a white collared Wednesday Addams look that went down to her ankles. Her hair was shaved off at the sides with square bangs with a laughably small pony tail poking up from the back of the top of her head. She hugged the edge of the door and looked in at both of them. “You guys are trying to talk to mom?”

Lou Ellen looked slightly stunned. “Go to bed, Ava.” Lou said gently.

Ava ignored Lou’s comment. “I think it’s a good idea.” She said in a soft, high-pitched voice.

Hedera looked up at her younger sister. “So that’s two.” Hedera turned her attention back to Lou Ellen and softly smiled. “What do you think?”

Lou Ellen felt wary about the whole idea, and it showed. Her lips parted and she raised a finger to her chin, staring at the ceiling. “Well…”

Ava had never actually spoken directly to their mother. Hedera knew that having her here made it impossible for Lou to say no.

“We can give it a shot.” Lou said quietly. “But we all need to focus! Any wandering minds and we could accidentally turn everyone in camp into a tree.” She yelled.

Hedera turned to Ava and the two of them both bounced a bit in shared excitement. Hedera jumped toward her trunk of things and fished her journal from it. She flipped around through it until she found exactly what she was looking for. She’d taken notes upon notes on every plant she grew, and the ones she wanted to grow. “I can help with set up. If we burn the right herbs, or I can make a potion-“ Hedera was thinking faster than her mouth could keep up with. There were a million different ways they could try to conjure a Goddess, and her decision could make or break this. She went to work pulling little sprigs from the various plants around her space.

Lou stood up and put her hair in a ponytail. “Ava, get the cauldron from compartment three. Have Morgan help you bring it in.” Various objects on the floor in the center of the room began to wiggle and then vanish in puffs of green fog and refracting light, only to reappear on top of shelves and dressers and beds nearby. Lou was one of only two Hecate children known to be able to transport objects through the Mist. “Hedera, double the recipe from last time. If this fails it’ll at least fail spectacularly.”

Ava and Morgan rushed in with their arms around the cauldron, and Hedera ran alongside them throwing the various plants in. Ava settled the cauldron on the ground while Hedera muttered her protection incantations, her hand glowing a faint blue as Ava looked on with awe. Once the concoction was complete the potion released a puff of blue smoke. Hedera nodded with satisfaction.

“It should be ready.” She said.

Hedera picked the cauldron off the floor where Ava had left it and placed it on the padded stone bench she and Lou Ellen had just been sitting on, as the stones reshuffled into a second table.

Hedera walked up to a shelf on the wall holding up six or seven leather bound books of varying color and size. She brushed her hand along the spine of each- the impressions on the leather were enough for her to know which was the correct one. “It isn’t here?” Hedera spoke like she was surprised by her own words.

“What? That tome is the only one in the camp that’s completely and totally ours!” Lou Ellen said with a hint of anger. Hedera turned around as Lou Ellen walked briskly toward the other sisters. The Hecate cabin was just under five years old, and no boys had ever lived in it.

“Has anyone seen it since we last tried to summon mom at Half Blood Hill?” Lou Ellen asked. The cabin became awkwardly quiet. Morgan leaned on the stone wall behind her and looked at the ceiling. Ava whistled. Lou gritted her teeth and picked up the potion. “Hedera, you’re going to have to run by cabin six.” Lou took a few steps toward Hedera. “We both know that if we left it on the hill, they have it. Besides..” She put a hand on Hedera’s shoulder and smiled a dimpled smile. “They like you.”

Hedera shrugged. “I don’t see why you say that, but I’ll go.” Hedera’s respect for her counselor outweighed her introversion and indolence. She brought herself to her feet. By now it was dusk, but the buzz around camp from the earlier incident hadn’t calmed. Hedera thought back to the prophecy she witnessed just before her interview in the Big House. The one given to that towering Aphrodite girl. Hedera couldn’t quite explain it, but the lines of the prophecy had a weird familiarity to her. She found the words replaying in her head.

When Hedera made it to cabin six, she knocked sheepishly. When no response came, she poked her head in the door, hoping that there wouldn’t be too many demigods inside.

The owl emblazoned door swung open to reveal a young man who looked roughly twenty. He looked alert and attentive as if a threat may be just beyond the cabin’s inner threshold, hiding somewhere. His sandy blonde hair was cut unevenly and covering over one side of his face. His brow was strong, but his jaw was more pointed than chiseled. His eyes were a deep grey. He wore only a cuirass and a pair of bright red boxer shorts. His eyes drilled into Hedera- not out of resentment or judgement, but in assessment. He was reading her. “You’re that Hecate girl. Hedera, right?” He stood up a bit straighter and nearly smiled. His poker face returned when he thought of his next question. “Remember my name at all?”

Hedera’s cheeks flushed, which always happened when she was embarrassed. She decided to ignore that last bit. “My cabin is missing one of our mystical tomes. I just came to see if you guys might have it.” She said, trying to keep her refusal to look at his eyes subtle.

He looked toward the upper left corner of his eye as one does when focusing hard on remembering something. “The book of shadow and evocation?” He said the name so casually that you’d think it was a brand of soda. “We had it, but I’m afraid someone else said they needed it until further notice.” The Athena counsellor paused and realized how weird that was, as going by the renter’s style choices it was most notably not a Hecate child. This was strange as no one else would have a practical use for the tome. The Athena cabin had only had it as knowledge for knowledge’s sake.

“Malcolm, Eleanor tore the blueprints!” bellowed a young voice from behind a crafts table far behind him. The man (evidently Malcolm) turned his head and bellowed back “That took an hour to draw out, we have the time and were going to draft them again anyway.” He faced Hedera again. “Sorry about that.”

“Who did you give it to?” Hedera asked, peeking around the doorway to try and see what was going on inside. As a lover of research, Hedera had always felt a certain kinship with the children of Athena. She just didn’t visit their cabin often because she couldn’t always work up the nerve to ask for access to their library.

“That really quiet new girl who’s always in those long skirts. The relictae. Know who I’m talking about? Cabin twenty two I think? Surprised we got done building that. Feels like we drew the blueprints on it yesterday.” Malcolm scratched the back of his neck and looked sympathetic. “Sorry if you have to run around the camp looking for this thing. Want me to come with?”

Hedera felt a pang of cold shoot through her chest. Her overwhelming anxiety was the reason she spent so much time inside her cabin, and so little time making friends. Right now it made her want to go hide in the safety of her little indoor garden, but maybe having Malcolm would mean he could do all the talking.

“Okay, Malcolm. Sure.” She was sure to use his name, so maybe he’d forget she’d never answered his question and assume that she’d always known it. He was smarter than that, she knew. But social flubs made Hedera so panicked that she had to do something to try and save face.

“I’ll be just a second.” Malcolm said. The cabin’s golden door fell shut as he went back inside to put on pants and shoes. He took far longer than he’d promised, though, as he ensured he was properly groomed and sprayed what little cologne he’d stashed away on each of his wrists. Hedera could hear a person dashing toward her. Someone small, going by the sound. Ava took Hedera’s hand and smiled up at her. “Hey Haydee, guess what I‘ve got?”

Hedera jumped from the sudden contact but relaxed when she saw who it was.

“What is it?” Hedera said, putting on her best big sister voice.

Ava unrolled a magazine. It was glossed with a thin layer of glitter that was not there when it was first purchased, and smelled lightly of perfume. The People Magazine cover was of a beautiful smiling woman jumping in the air in a white party dress. She looked like the lovechild of Natalie Portman and Beyoncé. The headline read ‘BALANCING MUSIC AND ACTING- ELENA BELLE TELLS US HOW SHE DOES IT! (AND YOU CAN TOO).’

“I took it from one of the Aphrodite girls!” Ava looked extremely proud of herself. “It’s dumb, right?” Ava said in a soft, sad voice. Completely unconvinced of her own words. She looked at the woman on the cover fondly.

Hedera took the magazine, looking over it before handing it back. “I mean, to each their own.” She shrugged. “Just watch out, depending on who you stole it from, they’ll get you back.” Hedera said with a quick wag of her finger. She was mostly the one in charge of looking out for Ava. “Why did you take it though?” Hedera asked.

Ava opened her mouth to speak, only to find she didn’t actually know what to say. She smiled up at Hedera and shrugged. She didn’t want to admit she actually wanted it. “They’re all kinda stuck-up, you know?” said Ava.

“Not all of them.” Hedera said. She wanted to encourage Ava to be more open minded than that. “Now what are you doing? It’s getting late and you should be helping prepare for ritual.”

“Well we can’t do it until you get back, so if I’m with you then I’ll be back right on time.” Ava said. She looked extremely proud of herself for working that out. Children seem to have their own form of logic, Hedera thought.

Malcolm stepped out of the cabin wearing a red jacket, a pair of jeans and sneakers. He smelled of warm pine needles. The scent was pleasant, but it also gave away just how much effort he was putting in. “Alright,this relictae Harmonia girl is kind of a persnickety one so we have to be careful how we go about thi- Why’s the kid here?” Malcolm said.

“I can’t say I know.“ Hedera said. She looked down at Ava. “Ava, why are you here?”

Ava pursed her lips and shrugged, before smiling politely at Malcolm.

“There’s your answer.” Hedera said to Malcolm plainly. She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her dress and started to walk. “You were saying?”

Malcolm spent a few seconds standing in place, gaping at nothing with a dumbfounded expression. He quickly snapped out of it and followed Hedera at about seven paces behind. “She’s really persnickety, probably because she’s a Harmonia daughter. Things need to be in exact order to keep the peace and harmony I guess? Just a theory.” Malcolm raddled off as he followed.

“You’re nervous.” Hedera deduced. “Why? Does the relictae Harmonia girl bite?” Hedera was actually a bit worried about the possibility of this woman being difficult. Conflict wasn’t something she was good with.

Malcolm lifted his left hand flat and wiggled it to indicate that he was unsure. “Ehhh…”

Ava ran up to Hedera’s side and took her hand again.

“He knows you just like girls, right?” Ava whispered upward.

Hedera leaned down to whisper back. “No clue.”

The Harmonia cabin was surrounded by a moat of running water. It was a circular river that never seemed to start or stop anywhere. Without gravity to propel the water, one would reason the water maintained its momentum through some sort of magic. Wind chimes hung from each of the roof’s four corners. The cabin looked like the kind of adorable cottage you would see in a Disney film, or a French fairy tale. Everything on the cabin’s outside was perfectly symmetrical- one half of the cabin a mirror image of the other, with tiny gold statues of Harmonia on either side of the front door. Various words, hieroglyphs and symbols for “peace” were carved into the door- both ancient and modern. The closer they walked toward the cabin, the more the background chatter of the camp seemed to fade to silence. Sounds of metal hitting metal, yelling campers and running feet all faded away. All one could hear was the wind chimes, the rushing water, and pleasantly singing birds.

Hedera visibly relaxed, her tense shoulders easing. Her anxiety seemed to be pulled out of her with the sound of the chimes. This was the first time in as long as she could remember that she’d felt this calm.

She knocked on the door.


	3. You Know How Catholic Girls Can Be

The wooden door opened to reveal a young woman standing in a simply-furnished room. She kept her left hand on the door’s edge as she examined her guests. She stood at about five foot nine in height. Her arms and legs made her appear a gangly girl. Most people felt the need to check whether her limbs were proportionate with her torso, or longer than they should be. Most people would end up deciding they weren’t entirely sure.

Her face was ultimately ‘V’ shaped. Large eyes, thin lips and high cheekbones that could cut someone if she weren’t careful. She had a jaw so angular that one would expect it to end in a sharp point, as opposed to the small round cleft chin that it actually met with. The sculpt of her eyebrows made her look permanently scandalized, but also followed the natural curve of her blue-green eyes. Her nose was her most noticeable feature- the word ‘small’ applied to it in every way, save for just how far it jutted out from the rest of her face. It was a pinched nose, an upturned nose that made her look childish and snooty. Her face looked almost vulpine, an image more than helped by her hair being roughly the off-brown color of a fox’s fur. Wavy hair that she kept tightly bound in a bun at the base of her skull. The hair above her forehead had just enough slack from the bun to push forward into a tiny pompadour.

She was pale enough that the knuckles of her hands and the tip of her nose were tinted a rosy pink. Her choice in clothes was, in Hedera’s opinion, oddly conservative and definitely out of place for the weather.

A high-collared button-up top, cream colored and absolutely covered in ruffles of sheer fabric. Most onlookers would say she dressed like a librarian. Pearl earrings, butterscotch perfume, and a shin-length skirt brown skirt. And then there was the rosary. She covered it quickly by pinching the collar of her shirt closed with her hand. She looked deeply annoyed.

“Excuse me?” She whispered in faux outrage at the uninvited visitors. “The main appeal of this abode is the peace of privacy.” The woman enunciated her words so precisely and carefully that it almost sounded like a British accent, but was really just a pretentious American one. She scanned Hedera up and down with her eyes. She found Hedera’s gothic attire revolting, but her expression softened for a moment when her eyes settled on Hedera’s face.

The two girls met eyes. A tinge of Hedera’s anxiety started to creep back. She swallowed, her head gesturing to Malcolm, volunteering him to speak.

Malcolm nodded ‘No’ to Hedera in a rapid panic before the girl in the cabin pinned her eyes on him. He stopped moving and hoped she hadn’t seen. “Well, it looks like that book we lent you actually belongs to these girls over at cabin twenty.” Malcolm said. The girl inside the cabin narrowed her eyes at him.

“I was not aware that your neglectful lending practices were any of my concern. Seems like their ire ought to be with you for giving me proper ownership of the horrid thing.” The woman in the cabin said flatly.

Had it not been for the calming nature of the cabin, Hedera probably would have ran. Ava would’ve kicked the woman in the shin and started searching the cabin.

They both just stood there dumbfounded by her rudeness.

“Well look, it’s a tome for our mother. We’re doing a working for her and-“ Hedera crouched down, placing her hands on her sister’s shoulders. “It’s going to be Ava’s first time meeting mom.” She swallowed, and hoped that Ava’s big eyes could win her over.

Ava caught on to what Hedera was doing and gave the Harmonia relictae her best big-eyed pout. She even let out a low whimper, as though thinking about missing her chance to meet her mother.

The girl in the cabin raised an eyebrow as Hedera spoke, skeptical of anything she may have to say in regards to a tome containing such heinous things. The kind of person that would have a use for such darkness is the same kind of person who would weave lies to get it back, she thought to herself.

She had intended to burn it. It would be a small rebellion against everything that had torn her world down these past few weeks. The one retaliation she would allow herself against the blasphemy that had robbed her of so much so quickly.

And then she looked at the child.

“Her mother?” The lady in the cabin whispered with sympathy.

“Yes, Hecate. She’s never met her and we’re trying to change that, so we would really appreciate you giving us back that book.” Hedera was to the point. She couldn’t usually bring herself to be this curt, but this was important. That, and she wanted this to be over faster. Something about the woman’s gaze sent a paralyzing feeling through Hedera.. Maybe it was just the enchantment on the cabin.

“That’s alright, dear. I’ve never met my mother either.” The woman in the cabin leaned down a bit patronizingly to speak sincerely to Ava. She seemed to willfully avoid speaking to Hedera more than was entirely necessary. The woman put her hand to her mouth, a fake attempt at keeping Hedera from hearing. She took on a playful voice. “They’re overrated, you know. My name is Elysia.”

She spoke to Ava like she was doing an impression of Mary Poppins. Ava simply stood there awkwardly, the way she did whenever well-meaning but clueless adults tried to get along with her.

“And such fine reading material for a girl your age…” Elysia said, eyeing the magazine that Ava held with an iron grip. It was hard to tell whether she was being sarcastic or just lying very poorly. Elysia briefly looked at Hedera before quickly looking down at the floor.

Elysia nibbled her lower lip as her eyes darted all around.

“Fine.” Elysia spat the word out. Hedera felt like if the word were a physical thing, it would’ve smacked her across her face like a dead fish. Elysia shut the door to her cabin to retrieve the book, giving her uninvited guests a short moment to talk amongst themselves. Malcolm looked to Hedera and shrugged his shoulders to tell her he was just as confused about this situation as she was. The door swung open again and Elysia was carrying the tome in a satin cloth- not wanting to touch the thing directly.

“Here. Take it.” Elysia pushed the book into Hedera’s hands. When their hands touched, they both looked at each other as if sharing a sudden realization. It was an intense feeling that made both of them freeze with stunned looks on their faces.

And then it was gone.

“Thanks.” Hedera breathed the word out in a more nasal voice than usual, with unblinking eye contact. She tucked the book under her arm and turned on her heel to get away from Elysia as quickly as possible. What was that just now?

Elysia had remembered seeing Hedera before. They had sat in silence on opposite sides of the same bench at the Big House whilst waiting to be interviewed. They both had seen that eccentric redhead scream out a prophecy. Elysia had no time for things such as that. For prophecies and crystal balls and magic. Knowing it actually worked made her even more fervently opposed to it than she had been in her days at the convent. She looked at the three of them as they walked away. Mother Mary Denis had warned Elysia that the draw of heretical practices would be tempting.

Elysia could only think that the matriarch had undersold it. She shut her cabin door and resigned herself to another evening alone.

Malcolm ran up to Hedera's side and kept stride with her and Ava. "That was really weird." He stated what he knew to be the obvious.

“Agreed. That’s the first time I’ve ever heard her speak.” Hedera said, tucking the cloth that the tome had been wrapped in into her pocket.

“So...” her attention turned to Malcolm. “Thanks for your help.” Hedera said, hoping he wasn’t expecting anything besides that. She wasn’t sure what else to say. Was it acceptable for her to just walk away?

“Oh yeah sure. Any time.” He scratched the back of his neck. It seemed to be a nervous tick of his. “So…I guess I’ll see you around? And if you ever need anything, you know where to find me.” He smiled earnestly. Ava rolled her eyes. She was just old enough to know a failed flirt when she saw one. Ava tugged lightly at her sister’s arm as if to help give her an excuse to escape the encounter.

“Okay.” Hedera stared blankly. “..Sure.”

She nodded, and then scrambled away with Ava.

“Thank the gods you were with me, he might have tried to kiss me!” Hedera squeezed her little sister’s hand.

“You totally owe me.” Ava said back with a mischievous little smile.

When they arrived back at the Hecate cabin, their sisters were ready for ritual. Hedera handed the tome to Lou Ellen.

“Tell me again why I had to be the one to go?” Hedera asked with annoyance.

“Malcolm might have made a fuss about it if I went! He hates my guts.” Lou Ellen loudly announced in her own defense. “Besides, that’s all behind us now.” She took the tome from Hedera and stood before the cauldron that they had poured her concoction into. Morgan, Ava, Lou Ellen and the other Hecate daughters sat in a circle surrounding the cauldron.

“Can I do it?” Ava pleaded meekly.

“Uh…” Lou Ellen pursed her lips and tried to decide which would be more heartbreaking: Not letting the girl try, or wasting their materials (and potentially destroying the cabin’s interior) because Ava ended up doing it incorrectly. “What do you think, Haydee?” Lou Ellen said to Hedera with a smile that was a thinly veiled cry for help. She was playing on Hedera’s pseudo-maternal relationship with Ava, as only Ava called Hedera 'Haydee'.

“I think the potion I made will be strong enough that we’ll be safe. Let’s let her try. Besides, that weird girl gave us the tome so Ava could talk to mom.” She rested her hand on Ava’s shoulder, partially in support and partially because she didn’t like being the center of attention. Ava had become a comfort.

Lou Ellen’s reservations seemed to fade a bit. She passed the tome to Ava. “Turn to page three hundred and ninety four.” Lou whispered to her youngest sister reassuringly.

Ava gulped audibly, flipping the pages of the tome through some very intimidating imagery to find the right page. Ava spoke in choppy, faltering bursts of what sounded like a mix of Greek, Latin and some third tongue that only a small portion of the girls present could actually understand.

“Εκάτη! Crossroads Θεά! Η γιαγιά της Σελήνης!” Ava yelled out. As a halfblood she obviously had no difficulty speaking Greek, but she occasionally paused out of nervousness. “Φορώντας τη μαύρη ρόμπα της νύχτας, το άπειρο μυστήριο.”

“Παίρνετε την αλήθεια από την ψευδαίσθηση, είστε ο προφήτης, ο περιπατητής στο σκοτάδι,” The contents of the cauldron began to swirl and stir into a whirlpool. “Κρατήστε το φανάρι σας ψηλά για να μοιραστείτε το φως με το ιερό σας, βλέπω την καθοδηγητική φλόγα σας.” The potion caught fire as a transparent projection of a torch rose from the bubbling froth.

“Με οδηγείς προς τα εμπρός και κρατώ την ψυχή σου στο αίμα μου!” At this point a gust of wind seemed to be dancing around the cabin as the ghostly torch raised gradually to expose the arm holding it aloft. “Ελάτε και ευλογήστε με την παρουσία σας!” Ava yelled out the final line with all the power she could muster. The cauldron vomited its contents skyward as the torch and arm dissipated.

The girls all gasped, suddenly caked in goo. Lou Ellen cringed more for Ava’s dignity than the damage to her clothes and hair. Ava looked around with looking numb and expressionless. She thought herself to be far too old to cry.

At least in front of others.

Hedera’s eyes were wide in surprise. But...had her potion done anything? Would the outcome have been worse had they not had it? Or did it do nothing? She looked down at Ava. She wasn’t sure what to say, and just rested her hand once again on her shoulder. Finally she broke the silence in the cabin. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have suggested it. Ava, you did great.” She tried to assure her, but she could see the younger girl’s eyes trying to fight tears.

Everyone in the room was in shock. Faces of surprise faded into faces of pity and concern. Lou Ellen tried to come up with something to say. “Hey, we can clean up and try again. I did a lot worse the first time I led a ceremony. Okay?” She spoke softly. Softer than Hedera had heard before, as Lou Ellen was usually too busy having fun to take notice of the feelings of her subordinates. Lou Ellen slowly and cautiously held her hand out to Ava. “Let’s clean up and go to bed in one of the other compartments, okay? It’ll be better in the morning.” Ava kept her eyes on the floor and shirked her shoulder away from Lou Ellen’s hand. She ran out of the room into one of the cabin’s other three compartments. The other girls all hung their heads. “Ugh, fuck.” Lou ellen mumbled. She looked ashamed of herself.

Hedera wanted to shrink away. She encouraged her to lead, she’d encouraged the ritual in the first place. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. She felt more than somewhat responsible and it was overwhelming. “I- I’ll be back.” Hedera stumbled out the door, breathing in the cold air. Soon she was able to calm herself, though her thoughts still raced. She found herself wandering, hands deep in her pockets. Finally she stopped near the canoe lake, leaning back against a tree.  
Two girls sat along the lakeshore, their feet nearly touching the water. There was probably a few hours before they would all be due at dinner. One of the girls was far larger than the other and looked quite familiar to Hedera, while the other was even shorter than Hedera herself and was harder to recognize. “Listen girl, they can’t do anything to you if they can’t actually stick the crime on you. Drew can kick and cry about it if she wants to, but you’re doing the best you can. The rest of us get that.” This was all Hedera could overhear. She was just out of sight of the two campers. Were they to turn to face her they’d see only the tree. “Eavesdropping. I knew to expect this kind of behavior of you the moment I saw you.” Said a woman’s voice from far in front of Hedera, far from the lakeshore.

Hedera jumped, her heart rate rising again. “I wasn’t- I was just for a walk-“ she looked around, trying to find who was speaking.  
Elysia locked her eyes on Hedera’s. She upturned her nose at her. “An interesting spot to choose to rest, I would say.” Her tone of voice was venomous. She kept quiet though, as she didn’t want to rouse the attention of the two Aphrodite girls conversing at the lakeside. Elysia looked Hedera up and down, noticing the blue-green sludge staining parts of her clothing. “And is this the reward that black magic affords you?”

Hedera finally looked up at her. “You accused me of eavesdropping, but that’s exactly what you’re doing, isn’t it?”  
Elysia staggered backward at the accusation, nearly tripping on her own feet. She stammered out a “How dare- I wouldn’t DREAM- I would nev-“Before her cheeks flushed and she fell to silence. “She’s a danger to all of us. I’m sure she’s a wonderful girl, if a bit flighty. Nonetheless she is a liability.” Elysia said as she stood upright and dusted off her skirt. “The last thing we need is further attention from the….Olympians.” Elysia chose that last word carefully.

Hedera lightly dug her nails into her skin anxiously. “I don’t see why you care so much about it, with how much you keep to yourself...”

Elysia rolled her eyes. “The one time I come out of my own volition I’m corralled into a musky house and forced to watch a possessed woman scream and contort herself.” She rested her hands on top of one another on her chest and lifted her chin like she was posing for her portrait. “I want as much distance between myself and those..beings as I can manage. I’m only here because the beasts outside can smell us.”

‘And because I can’t show my face back home again’ she thought to herself. “It’s in all our best interests that she and she alone be punished. Quickly, quietly, and far away from the rest of us.”

All Hedera wanted was to get away from this conversation and hide. Her mouth was dry, unsure what to say. “You make it sound like you want her to be executed!” Hedera finally blurted out.

Elysia tightened her grip on her blouses’ collar and turned away from Hedera in a move that was a bit over-dramatic. Her face showed a quick tinge of shame. “I wouldn’t wish any harm on her. I’d just rather the whole camp not be dragged into another disaster like those I’ve been told of.” Elysia said.

Hedera could just barely see, in the distance, a young girl sat down hugging her knees leaning against the outer wall of cabin twenty.

“People are sorta starting to talk. I just want you to hear it from me first.” Said the shorter of the two girls at the lakeside to her sister. At this point Elysia and Hedera were only catching half the conversation.

Hedera finally saw her out. “I need to go-“ She didn’t wait for a reply from Elysia before turning to leave. She didn’t even give her a second glance as she ran back to cabin twenty to speak to her youngest sister.

“Hey.” She said softly as she sat down next to Ava.

Ava sat with her back touching the stone wall of the cabin, her face hidden between her knees with her hands plopped limply against the ground. “Hi…” She said in a drawn-out groan barely audible with her face hidden.

She lifted her head slightly so that she could be heard, but she was still facing the ground more than she was Hedera. Her hair had been ruffled so that her bangs hid her eyes from this angle. One could see her chin was stained by tears mixed with eyeliner. She unrolled the magazine that she’d had on her person all day. “Elena Belle says that being yourself is more important than succeeding.” Ava said with both awe and doubt in her voice as she looked at the young woman on the magazine’s cover. “The other kids my age at camp think I’m weird. And the one thing I’m supposed to be good at literally blew up in my face.” The more she spoke the louder her voice became until the end of the sentence was yelled out in humiliation.

Hedera sighed. She put her arm around Ava and pulled her a little closer. “It was your first try, Ava. My first try I was older than you, and it’s what made my dad send me here. It was really bad, I blew up the barn.” Hedera paused. She’d never told anyone that.

Ava sniffled and looked up in curiosity. “The whole barn?”

Hedera swallowed. “Yup. The whole thing. I went out in the middle of the night. He told me I couldn’t practice bigger spells until I came here, and I didn’t listen. But- Ava the point is it could have been so much worse. For your first attempt you did really well.”

Ava’s breathing seemed to steady from the heaving breaths of someone who’d been crying into something slower. “I guess you’re right. I just need to keep trying, right? That’s what my Tuesday tutor says. I make fun of him for saying that kind of thing when he doesn’t know what it’s like to have our magic, but he’s nice.” She sniffled and ran her arm across her nose to settle it. “Even if his dumb jacket doesn’t make any sense. He’s not even a pilot.”

“Do you think everyone else in the cabin will think it’s dumb that I like this stuff?” Ava hugged the magazine to her side with one arm. “I look up to her a lot.” Ava said presumably referring to Elena Belle, the woman on the cover.

Hedera couldn’t help but chuckle a little from her comment about the Hades kid. “Well I don’t think it’s dumb. And if someone else does then who cares?” She shrugged. “That shouldn’t stop you from liking something.”

“…Yeah? Yeah. Yeah!” With each ‘Yeah’ Ava sounded a bit more chipper and convinced. “I think I’m going to go talk to Lou Ellen. She seemed sad.” Ava stood up and headed toward one of the cabin’s four entrances. “And Haydee? Thanks.”


	4. The Message

“Karissa?” Valentina nudged Karissa’s shoulder as they sat at the lakeside with their feet just barely touching the water. “Don’t go zoning out on me now girl.”

Karissa brought her attention back to Valentina. “Huh? Sorry-“ She hadn’t been able to focus, and it was clear how distraught she was by the state of her puffy, makeupless eyes.

“You’re fine. Just stay with me on this, okay hun?” Valentina put a hand on Karissa’s cheek. “Drew’s been telling people you used your charmspeak to take Mr.D’s stick. Dunno how she would’ve heard anything like that, but if she knows Chiron’s keeping an eye on you she probably guessed the rest.” Valentina kicked her toes in the lakewater to exert a bit of anger. “I mean. She guessed what Mr.D probably thinks! Not what the actual truth is. I know you didn’t do it!” She waved her hands between herself and Karissa in her own defense. “I’m with you here.” “Nobody’s seen Piper since the prophecy. And I’m kinda worried Drew’s charmspeak will make people believe rumors they normally wouldn’t.”

“Gods that’s the LAST thing I need right now.” Karissa groaned. “Drew’s bullshit rumors. Piper is the only one who can actually do something about it.” She lay back against the dock, her feet still hanging in the water as she looked up at the sky. “I don’t know what’s going to happen to me.” This fear wasn’t something Karissa could admit to just anyone. In fact, Valentina was the only one she fully could confide in.

Valentina laid down on her side alongside Karissa. “Well hey, I mean it could be worse. You could have people stealing your shit instead of just saying you did it. “She said in a joking tone. “Like how someone took my Elena Belle edition of People Magazine.” She yelled in faux outrage. “And you think you have problems!” She nudged Karissa’s side playfully.

This got a small smile from Karissa, but no laugh.  
“I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but you don’t know how scary that was. All she did was touch me and suddenly she was spewing a prophecy that I don’t even know if it’s meant for me or not.”

Valentina’s face fell again. She decided against trying her ‘plan B’ which would have been playing her clarinet for Karissa. “I get it. I mean, I don’t. But I get that I don’t.” Valentina laid down flat on her back and stared up to the stars with her sister. “Do you wanna head to dinner a little early? Get there before the rest of the cabin. Avoid the bitch that shall not be named if we can.”

Karissa sat up, pushing her thick dark hair from her face. “Sure. But I swear to the gods if she talks to me at dinner I can’t promise I’m not going to stab her.” She stood. “I need to get some makeup done, I don’t want the rest of camp seeing me like this.”

  
“You really wanna head back to the cabin right now?” Valentina slowly stood and dusted off her elaborate coat. “I’ve been practicing my makeup work. The real fast kind, if you catch my drift? I could use the practice. Have you done in the flick of the wrist.” She sounded sure of herself. “…Or we could head back and put some time into it.” She tilted her head and shrugged. A girl watched from between the trees. She walked away upon first being noticed.

Karissa hardly noticed the movement behind them.  
“Sure, and if it looks terrible I’ll just throw you into the lake.” She shrugged.

“I’ve got a low center of gravity mija. You try it and I suplex you to Tartarus.” Valentina sat down with her legs crossed and held her hand a few inches in front of Karissa’s face, her palm outstretched like she were asking her to halt. “I’ll try to make it only last a few days so people don’t catch on and get on your ass about it.” Foundation and lines of eyeliner and contour began to spread across Karissa’s face from seemingly nowhere. It looked like stop motion footage of someone painting a canvas.

Mascara slowly spread from the base of her eyelashes to the tip as eyeshadow faded into view. A subtle burst of dust matching her skin tone plumed off of each of her cheeks like the fallout of being smacked by invisible powder puffs. “I mean. It’s a little more neon and sparkly than even you would normally go but I think it looks fantastic.” Valentina lowered her hand. “You’re stuck with it for a while either way.” She stuck out her tongue with a smile. Valentina stood and offered her sister her hand.

“Thanks, Val. I owe you one. I don’t know what I’d do if Drew saw me like that.” She shoved her hands in her pockets as she walked. She felt like everyone’s eyes were on her. Normally this was a feeling she’d relish in, but now she wanted to scream at everyone to look away. She took her seat at the dining pavilion, keeping her gaze away from her siblings.

Drew raised an eyebrow and smiled a half-smile. The kind where you only raised one corner of your mouth. "Come on hun. Piper's not here to get mad at you. You can tell. "

She paused for a beat.

"Unless you've made everyone treat us like shit for no reason at all?" Drew added.

Valentina slammed her fist onto the table.

Karissa took a deep breath to try and steady herself. This reply had to be carefully thought out.

“Shut the fuck up Drew.” She said through clenched teeth.

Drew looked offended and opened her mouth to reply, but she was cut off before she could speak.

"Dionysus's thyrsus is recorded as being able to turn his enemies into dust." The words erupted from Mitchell like a geyser. He spoke quickly out of fear of his own words and their ramifications.

"Nobody is mentioning that. I feel like Mr.D is leaving it out on purpose...But I did my research! They wouldn't be on high alert like this over just any honey wand."

Valentina narrowed her eyes at Mitchell. "Boy you had better not honestly think Karissa would-"

"I don't think she did it. I just...understand why people are tense." Mitchell interrupted again.

Mitchell shrugged and kept his eyes on his food. He felt guilty for sympathizing with the people that were othering his sister.

Valentina simmered down and her temper faded into something much worse: concern and uncertainty.

“Mitchell brings up a good point.” Karissa shot a look at Drew. “If I had it I would have vaporized you by now.”  
She went back to attempting to eat her meal, though the news of the item’s ability definitely didn’t make her feel any better about being the one accused of taking it.

"You want to say that a little louder?" Drew quipped, but her voice shook. The dining pavilion fell silent. Drew seemed taken aback by the sudden deafening quiet. She turned her head in all directions wondering if her words to Karissa were what had gotten everyone's attention.

Dionysus had stood from table twelve. Chiron wheeled his chair between the dining tables until he sat beside Mr. D. "Good evening." Chiron's voice reverberated through the pavilion. He sounded apprehensive. "Despite our best efforts to give this matter its due discretion, many of you may have heard recent rumors regarding a most heinous theft." His words hung in the air. "Mr. D and I have deliberated extensively. We have done all we can to avoid planting the seeds of mistrust and panic, as these things are the antithesis of what it means to live and train here at the camp."

It felt as though everyone was holding their breath at once. "However, in light of recent events and revelations...I have decided it is best to inform you all of the full breadth of the situation." "Over the past six weeks there have been a series of thefts of miscellaneous artifacts. These have largely been inconsequential and until recently were written off as everyday fare. The work of monsters or the whims of the ignorant."

"Dionysus's Thyrsus was put under protection as a routine precaution. For it to have been stolen reveals this to be a more organized and ambitious effort than we realized."

"While the Thyrsus was the first stolen artifact owned personally by an Olympian..." Chiron grimaced. "It has not been the last."

Gasps rang out as campers turned to whisper to one another.

"Recent precautions forbidding passage to monsters and those without divine blood lead us to the unfortunate conclusion that our perpetrator is a half-blood." The pavilion burst into a roar of campers speaking amongst themselves. Chiron raised his voice to speak over the concerned teenagers.

"We are still investigating how they might have acquired these items without being discovered. The fact there is a recent precedent for this insult against the Gods renders it all the more unacceptable." Chiron said, referring to an incident that had occurred just under a decade ago that had served as the catalyst for the second titanomachy.

"The will of the gods is that a quest be arranged. However given the circumstances we ask that time be given to survey the matter and rule out potential...security concerns." Using such formal bureaucratic language wasn't like Chiron. This sounded rehearsed. This sounded as though it was written for him by someone else. He spoke as if he hated saying it.

Karissa just got paler and paler the longer that Chiron spoke. She felt like she might explode at any moment. There were so many swirling emotions inside of her. She wanted to find the fucker who did take it and beat the shit out of them for pinning it on her. Hell, it was hard to not want to go take it out on Rachel for spewing the prophecy.

Hedera’s eyes fell on Karissa as Chiron spoke. Just another pair of eyes in the dozens already on her. Something felt off. She still couldn’t put her finger on it, but she could feel it.

"Expect to hear more regarding the quest within the next two days. Until then, keep your wits about yourselves." He began to wheel away from the center of the pavilion. "...And do not lose your trust in one another." They were the first words of the speech that sounded like his own. Dionysus sat back down.

"This is bad." Mitchell whispered.

Drew, Valentina and Lacy all nodded.

Each of the people at the Aphrodite table sat and let it sink in what they had just learned. Valentina was the first to speak. “Did he say they were going to take a few days to figure out if there’d be a quest? They can’t just let her stew like this.” Valentina said dismally. Drew made a snarl of a face. “Everybody’s going to start treating us like freaks.” She leaned her torso part-way over the table.

Karissa snapped. Her hands slammed hard down on the table as she stood, her face red as she leaned towards Drew. “Not everything is about your /fucking/ reputation Drew! If you care so much about what other people think than pull that sword out of your ass and stop acting like such a bitch!” Her voice was loud, and a little frightening  
.  
The other campers had been keeping an inquisitive eye on the Aphrodite table since dinner began, and seemed swayed by Karissa’s words. Drew looked around in realization. This wasn’t a physical fight. It was one of influence. “You seem pretty scared for someone who didn’t do it.” Drew announced with a stage yell. She wanted to be heard by others in the pavilion. She knew that their own real biases were already against Karissa, and that it would be easier for her to feed those biases than it would be for Karissa to get the campers to see beyond them. Even with charm speak. The campers at the table nearest Karissa began to murmur in reluctant agreement at Drew’s thinly veiled accusation.

“Me and Piper got dragged to the big house too! Karissa is the only one sweating bullets when she hears they’re investigating.” Drew yelled. Valentina stood from the table and loomed over a still-seated Drew.

Karissa’s next move didn’t help her cause any. She swung her fist across the table and into Drew’s cheek. The blow was hard enough to knock Drew from her seat. “Fuck you!” She roared, her face red with rage.

The sound of Drew hitting the floor sent a jolt through the entire pavilion- roughly two to four campers began to stand from most of the major tables, seemingly prepared to intervene. Nymph servers screamed and fled the pavilion as Drew groaned into the dirt. Chiron stood from his wheelchair and let his full hind horse body emerge as he stormed down toward the Aphrodite table.

Dionysus raised an eyebrow at Karissa.

“She’s fucking crazy!” Drew yelled out. She sounded on the verge of tears. Chiron towered beside Drew and looked down at both women with a mix of concern and disappointment. “You can’t just do that!” A girl yelled from somewhere in the crowd. Various campers jeered at Karissa and yelled out in agreement. Valentina stood from the table and yelled back at the crowd: “None of you even know what’s going on!”

Karissa panicked when she realized everyone’s attention was on her, one hundred percent. She wanted to run, but that would only hurt her cause even more than she already had. Campers were slowly wandering away from their tables and closer to the action. Those who remained at their tables sat in discomfort or hid. Chiron shuffled his hooves uneasily.

And then he heard a bow being drawn.

“Everyone return to your cabins. Now.” He bellowed out the order with all the commanding presence he had at his disposal. “Elysia.” Chiron yelled out to the girl sat alone at the Harmonia table in a far-off corner of the dining hall. The gangly girl nodded solemnly and clutched something beneath the ornate ruffled collar of her shirt. Something within her grip briefly flashed a golden glow.

And with that, a calm fell over the pavilion. Campers found themselves questioning the validity of their own anger, questioning the necessity of their mistrust toward Karissa. All background noise faded to silence. Nothing could be heard but the soothing crackle of the hearth. Malcolm recognized it as the same energy he felt while visiting the Harmonia cabin.

Elysia’s rosary. She must have used it as a focus tool to channel her Harmonia powers, Hedera theorized.

“Cabins. Now.” Chiron bellowed out a second time.

Karissa was one of the first to scurry away from the order. Hopefully she could just hide in the cabin. Though then she’d have to deal with Drew... She grabbed onto Valentina’s arm and held tight. “I’m scared.” She said quiet enough for just the two of them to hear. Valentina looped her arm in a link with Karissa’s. “Me too girl.” She said in a slow monotone as they headed toward the cabins.

Chiron and Elysia strode alongside one another trailing behind the crowd of campers. The object in Elysia’s grip continued to softly glow. It was awkward to be herded like sheep like this, but maybe their behavior had called for it? Drew was acting far more injured than she actually was. Two Apollo campers lifted her up onto a stretcher that both of them knew to not be necessary and huddled her away. On the other hand, one could see her cheek swelling from a distance.

Elysia kept her eyes on her own feet as she walked. She looked weirdly ashamed of herself.

Back in the cabin, Karissa hid in her bunk and covered her ears. She didn’t want to hear the buzz of conversation throughout the cabin, especially since most of it was about her. Where the fuck was Piper? She wouldn’t be letting this happen. Valentina sat on Karissa’s bedside in silent solidarity, placing a hand on Karissa’s shoulder.

Ava tugged on Hedera’s shirt sleeve.

Hedera looked down at her little sister, her eyes meeting Ava’s. She didn’t ask what she needed, simply looked at her, waiting for her to say whatever it is she wanted to tell her.

Ava pointed to the other side of camp, where Halfblood Hill and the pine tree were barely visible. Ava stared at the hill as though she could see it better than the others present.

“There’s someone on the hill watching.”

Hedera followed Ava’s gaze. Someone on the hill wouldn’t have been a strange occurrence, but considering everyone was shuffling off to their cabins, it was a little odd. “I’m gonna go check it out. You should go back to the cabin.”

Ava normally would have put up a snide protest and made some remark about how she could aid her sister. Instead she kept her eyes on the hill like a deer looking into headlights. She nodded and ran to catch up with her other sisters. The moon was now in full view just above Halfblood Hill.

Hedera made her way up the hill, careful to see that no one saw her. She wasn’t the best with the mist, in fact she had barely grasped the basics. She hoped her magic worked, and that the mist was concealing her from sight. Maybe the person on the hill wouldn’t see her either. Who could it be though? No one had left the dining pavilion during dinner until ordered to, and she’d been watching as everyone filed into their cabins. All the camp staff and directors were guiding the crowd... So who...? She crept slowly, trying to go unnoticed. If her mist wasn’t working she’d need to be careful.

The stars seemed pure white from atop Half-blood Hill. The grass grew taller the closer she got to the golden fleece- and once at the top of the hill it was nearly up to her knees. The grass blades danced and shifted in the wind along with the tree branches, the sound of which was lovely and melodious. The moon hanging above the scene brought a soft light of purity and serenity onto all below it. The Parthenon was as large and magnificent as ever, gleaming golden. As much as she respected Athena, Hedera had always found the statue intimidating.

Peleus layed wrapped around the pine tree below the fleece. The dragon must have been twenty feet in length of copper scales punctuated by a pointed tail on one end and golden eyes on the other. “They seriously had me thinking you weren’t gonna show.” His voice was a lower baritone. Gravelly yet breezy. Strong but young. Somehow she hadn’t noticed him until now. A man- seemingly about her age- was knelt down in the grass beside the pine tree.

Hedera froze, her amber eyes wide in alarm.  
She had no idea if he could see her through her manipulating the Mist, and she wasn’t sure if she should speak. Whoever he was, he could have been talking to the dragon. She didn’t want to give herself away if she hadn’t been noticed yet.

He had his back to her so that he could overlook the camp with fond regard. He had one hand on the dragon’s belly caressing it affectionately. His skin was a dark brown. It was rich in color and reflected the light like dravite crystal. His clothes were covered in splotches of soot and oil, but his skin and hair seemed freshly clean. His hair was styled into braids that erupted out of the back of his head and cascaded down his back. The volume of his hair and sheer number of the braids made the layers pile upon each other so that his hair gave his back the appearance of a porcupine’s. At least until you were close enough to tell that the locks were soft and laced with silver beads and bobbles.

His pants were baggy overalls with a thick fabric, metal lining and rivets leading down to heavy metal-soled boots. They were the pants of an old-fashioned deep sea diver. He scratched at the dragon’s belly with hands bound in leather fingerless gloves, but got no reaction from the beast. The grass he sat in did not seem weighed down.

“I know what you’re thinking.” He leaned back a bit to recline more into the grass. He was still sat up enough to keep his face turned away from her view. He paused just to listen to the wind more closely. “We haven’t met.” He spoke in a voice serious and monotone, but not threatening.

Hedera carefully withdrew her sword, trying to be as quiet as possible. Her free hand glowed a faint blue as she allowed magic to form at her fingertips.

“Woah, everybody here’s so jumpy. Is it cool if we talk? Like…” He took his hand down from the dragon’s belly and put it in the soil beside his other- holding his torso up as he reclined to view the stars. “I really don’t know how long we’ve got for talking with them in the way, you know how that is?” He stretched his arms into the air with a groan of satisfaction. His back cracked a few times before he relaxed and settled one of his elbows on his knee. “Before things get serious, I’ve got some things to say.”

“And hey…” He waved one hand in front of him with bravado and presentation. “What a night, right?” The dragon did not seem to acknowledge his presence at all- though it eyed Hedera pleasantly without moving from place.

At this point, Hedera dropped any notion that he was speaking to someone else. More than that, it seemed as though he had been waiting here for her specifically.

“Who are you?” Hedera said

He shrugged his shoulders. “Egan. And you’re Hedera.” He spoke the words matter-of-factly, but with an almost playful rhythm. “I didn’t really work out what I was gonna have to say.” He cracked the joints in his neck.

“There’s a lot I want to explain that won’t make sense yet. And you’re not gonna know why I’m telling you.” He sounded frustrated with the idea, but passively so. Like he had even gotten tired of being annoyed with the situation and had given in to its pointless complexity.

He started talking with his hands like he was putting a great deal of effort into explaining. He almost sounded defensive. “There’s a lot we’ve got to do and I just. Want you to understand, you know? That if gets hot and heavy and goes too far, I’m not actually like that.”

He put his hands on the sides of his head.

“Have you ever been to Detroit?”

He finally turned to face her. His head was chiseled- square with a strong jaw. But his face itself was softer. Angled cheekbones, small but intense brown eyes that almost looked an autumn red in the right light. A high forehead and supple lips, angled brows and a wide nose. He looked at her expectantly.

“And I mean like…Real Detroit. Not like Bloomfield or Farmington but actual downtown.”

Questions ran through her mind a million miles a minute. “How do you know my name?” Was the first she asked. “And what does Detroit have to do with anything?”  
Egan shrugged again. He shifted so that his whole body was facing her, legs sat criss-cross on the grass. The grass still didn’t seem weighed down. “I know a couple names around here.” He smiled for a split second, but it faded fast. “And I grew up around west Chicago street downtown.” His voice had become despondent. “Spent my last five years or so right on Livernois Avenue.” He said in what almost felt like a whisper of mourning. He closed his eyes for a moment. “Let me explain. You mind?”  
Hedera didn’t feel like she had much of a choice, and she had the feeling the man in her presence wasn’t mortal. “If you don’t have much time then I guess go for it.”

Egan flashed another small smile, this time one of gratitude. “Thanks, I know it’s tense around here.”

“So. Early life was real nice. Mom was working two or three jobs that switched up every few months, but she made it work. Dad was a ‘military engineer’. Or so mom told me. He didn’t leave- not the way you think. Mom said he was busy. Would help however he could.” Egan shrugged again and pursed his lips like he was trying to show he understood his father’s circumstances, but the sympathy seemed insincere. “So that part of town didn’t stay too great for too long. Neighbors started selling out. Others left without selling. Others just disappeared without taking anything with.”

“I do what I can to help out, you know? Take up a few little jobs real young. Fixing cars for some guys in town.” Egan bit his lower lip. “Few years later mom’s just not home one day. And I’m living out of two old brick buildings with broken windows on Livernois with half a dozen other kids.”

“And I was raised right. I didn’t do anything I didn’t need to do to live. Kept working on cars. Kept buying my food. Meijer’s wasn’t too expensive.” Egan leaned in a few inches closer to Hedera. “Get this though. We had one jacket to share when it got windy. We’re bathing with the help of a hose spout and one cold pot of water. And then one day I get scared about a couple of the smallest of us not making it through some of the violence outside some nights. And I get real worried and real focused- and the whole house just heats up. Could feel the bricks baking.” He clapped his hands together. “Next thing you know we’re cramming half the neighborhood in there. I’m boiling water for drinking!”

“Wasn’t claimed till I was fourteen. Was two years before all that business in Manhattan.”

“And life’s real good now, isn’t it? Except people still die unnecessarily. Kids from a few cities over start coming asking me to clean their water.” Egan looked around at his surroundings quickly. “And I’m thinking…I can’t fix all this. I have gifts, magic it seemed like- but I couldn’t fix it all. But there’s a lot of people upstairs who could and don’t.”

“When I got claimed I didn’t just find out where my gifts are from. I found out there was a whole bunch of pain in the world that dad’s side of the family could fix if they gave a shit.” He spat the last word out with vitriol. “I’m doing this for everybody back home. Because I can’t go back there until I can do what I couldn’t before.” He poked his finger onto the ground for emphasis. “Save everybody this time.” An image of glistening magma began to swirl in Egan’s eyes. “That’s what it’s for. All of it. That’s what it’s all about. Just a couple hundred thousand people back home in need of a little justice.” Egan stood up. His face had become intense. His eyes were filled with both resolve and remorse. “I came here to tell all of you...it's not anything personal." Egan's legs began to distort like a funhouse mirror as a thin green fog worked its way up his body.

“Wait- who’s your father? What’s happening? What does this have to do with me?” Hedera said as she reached out to grab his arm. But her hand ran through his arm as though he were a ghost, leaving a trail of green fog and his arm’s image distorted. “I want to be my own man. Not remembered as anybody’s son but my mother’s. Nobody’s power but mine.” Egan looked down solemnly. “But I know where I came from. Egan Faust. Legacy of Neptune fourteenth descending.” Lava appeared to bubble out from the ground beneath him, but Hedera felt no heat. “Son of Vulcan.” He looked up at her again and bellowed the words loudly enough to hurt Hedera’s ears. His eyes dimmed down back to normality- back down to the rich dark brown with tinges of red. “And you must believe me miss. I really am sorry.” Egan and the magma both dispersed into mist completely, leaving behind only a three by five inch card on the ground where he stood.  
...Hedera quickly realized she hadn’t felt the heat from the magma. The grass never crunched down when he sat upon it or moved when he stood. God fucking damn it. The dragon didn’t ignore him because he was safe. It ignored him because he wasn’t actually here.The card laid upon the ground directly where Egan had ‘Stood’. It was inscribed with dozens of elaborate symbols, sigils, and runes. And a single word. "ACT", written in cursive in one corner. Egan had never stepped off of this card during his entire appearance on the hill.

A young girl from near the cabins could be heard screaming. No. That voice...Ava could be heard screaming.


	5. Her Only Brother

“Ava-“

Hedera shoved the note into her pocket and took off running the moment she heard her scream. By the time she’d made it to the cabin her hands were glowing, ready to strike.  
Lou Ellen sat on the steps leading into one of the Hecate cabin’s four entrances, rolling her eyes with her arm thrown across the shoulders of a wailing Ava. Ava was hugging a fresh-off-the-presses magazine presumably smuggled in by one of the Aphrodite campers.

“She’s gone! Someone took her!” Ava looked at the cover of the magazine and cried even louder upon reading its words again. Lou Ellen mouthed ‘Little help?’ to Hedera, before seeing that Hedera was fully combat prepared.

“What the fuck? Something up?” Lou Ellen said to Hedera with legitimate concern on her face. “Of COURSE something’s up! Someone TOOK her! Elena Belle Trey is GONE!” Ava sobbed softly onto the magazine.

A celebrity.

This was about Ava’s favorite celebrity.

Hedera’s heart pounded. When the realization of what was going on finally sunk in she pulled back her magic. “I thought Ava was in trouble.” She sat down on the other side of Ava, placing her hand on her shoulder. “You shouldn’t be screaming so loud, you scared me to death.”

Hedera sighed. She wasn’t quite sure what to say to comfort her. “I’m sure they’ll find her.” She assured the younger girl.  
“Yeah!” Lou Ellen forced a smile for Ava and tried to keep the reassurance train moving. “And she’ll be alive and everything!” Ava realized the possibility of her not being found alive and began to wail again. Lou Ellen maintained her fake smile, but her eyes were filled with regret.  
Hedera shot Lou Ellen a look that read ‘way to go dumbass’ She pulled Ava into her arms and started to play with her hair. “She’ll be fine, we can even ask the gods to watch over her. Tomorrow at breakfast we’ll ask them together, okay?”

“Really? You think it’ll help?” Ava wiped her face on her sleeve and turned to Hedera. Lou Ellen shrugged at Hedera and looked displeased with herself, as if to say ‘I’m trying!’.

“It never hurts to try. Now come on, it’s late.” Hedera stood and offered her hand to Ava. “We should get some sleep. The sooner we sleep the sooner we can ask for help.”

Ava took Hedera’s hand and stood back up gradually. Lou Ellen stood as well and dusted herself off with a look of relief on her face. “I don’t really feel all that tired. I’m worried.” Ava said with her eyes half open as she pulled open the cabin door and held it ajar.

Hedera followed her inside, a hand resting on her back to guide her to bed. “Well you’ve got to try.”

Ava laid down upon one of the various couches that mystically sunk down and widened into a bed when introduced to Ava’s weight. She rubbed her eyes. “Was there really someone on the hill?”

Ava looked up at Hedera with a shine of curiosity in her eyes.

Hedera nodded. “Yeah there was, And hey- Lou Ellen?” She turned to her counselor. “You might want to hear about this.”

She told both of her siblings, and any still awake in the cabin, about her strange encounter. She pulled the letter from her jacket pocket and handed it to Lou Ellen. “Do you know what this might be?”

The silent reactions from the other Hecate daughters were clearly mixed. Morgan leaned against the wall, her face stern and unflinching like she was assessing the threat. Lou Ellen was wide eyed but otherwise expressionless. Ava listened with great interest- she seemed more curious than concerned. Lou Ellen’s pupils shrank and her mouth quietly opened in shock when Hedera showed her the card. Lou Ellen paled as she snatched the card from Hedera’s hands to look at it more closely. She flipped the card over a few times to examine it from every possible angle.Others in the cabin seemed confused as to what she was up to.

“It’s a mistform card.” Lou Ellen murmured almost to herself. Her fingers were ever so slightly shaking. “If you create an illusion using the mist you can save it onto one of these and make it come out whenever you want. A little bit like a magical hologram.” She explained without taking her eyes off the card. “We need to talk to Chiron.” Lou Ellen stood up and put on her shoes.

“Why? What’s going on?” Ava asked with her bedsheets pulled up over her nose, following along with her cabin leader with big curious eyes. Lou Ellen’s motions were panicked and jerky.

“I only know about two of our siblings advanced enough in the mystical arts to be able to even use these.” She paced the floor around the cabin. “Only one who could make one this complicated.” She held the card out for them to see it better, but did so with such force that she was basically punching the air in front of her. “Not to mention..” She pointed to the letters ‘ACT’ written in the card’s corner. “The smug bastard signed it.”

“I’m going with you.” Hedera said insistently. Lou Ellen looked hesitant, but nodded.

Hedera tugged her jacket on quickly.

“Ava, stay in bed. Morgan, make sure Ava stays in bed.” Lou Ellen spat out the orders like a mother giving instructions to the babysitter. She slipped the mistform card into the pocket of her fuzzy bat pajamas. Lou Ellen grabbed Hedera by the wrist and opened the door to the cabin. She walked outside with Hedera in tow and slammed the door behind them.

“So who’s A.C.T.?” Hedera asked innocently enough.

Lou Ellen looked shocked that Hedera didn’t know. Then again, she knew Hedera hadn’t arrived at camp until long after this topic had become taboo.

Lou leaned in toward Hedera face to face, just as worried about who might overhear as she was embarrassed at her own paranoia. “I don’t even know if I’m allowed to say his name. Our brother. He betrayed Olympus and led the army of enemy half-bloods in Manhattan.” She seemed to be avoiding more names than just his. Talking about it made her visibly nervous.

“Wait- during the titan war?” Hedera had been home at her father’s farm at the time, but she remembered the news. She remembered how terrified her father was, and how difficult it had been for Hedera to believe what was happening. Sure, she’d grown up with him teaching her to grow plants just by placing her hand into the dirt, but magic plants and mighty titans weren’t even in the same ballpark.

“No, Hedera, the Australian Emu war of nineteen thirty t- Yes, the titan war!” Lou Ellen had become rude and snappy under duress. She started walking toward the Big House in the dark of night. She managed to look like a woman on a mission, in spite of her ridiculously fuzzy pajama pants.

By now, Hedera was almost certain that she was somehow involved in the prophecy. She rested her hand on Lou Ellen’s shoulder to ground herself. The familiar human contact brought her back to the present. She decided she would ask Lou Ellen about the emus later.

  
Chiron examined the card closely. One of the symbols drawn on it looked like a rudimentary sketch of a faceless man. A symbolic depiction of the man Hedera had met. Hedera and Lou Ellen sat in the same room that the prophecy had been proclaimed in only hours before. The projector screen the orientation film was shown on was still unfurled. Everyone had simply been too busy with the chaos of the day to bother cleaning up something so minor.

Chiron picked his reading glasses up from his jacket pocket. The room was candle lit and what few windows there were looked out onto moonlit trees. He took a deep breath inward. “Well then.” Chiron sighed. Lou Ellen sat with her knees touched together and her hands in her lap- she’d never sat so formally in her life before this.  
Dionysus stood in the room’s doorway behind the two adult Hecate daughters. He looked more annoyed than anything.

Chiron put the card down onto his desk, but didn’t take his eyes off it. “This is a mistform card. It’s used to summon artificial constructs.” He rubbed his temples with both hands, massaging away an oncoming stress migraine. “The man you saw was not real. Both in the sense that it had no real body and in the sense that it had no real mind. What you saw was an interactive message.” He explained in as kind a tone as he could, but he was clearly agitated.

“Were an avid magic user to touch the card in a certain sequence the mistform would emerge again.” Chiron rushed through the sentence so to get to the actual point. “Even without his signature, Alabaster is the only half-blood I know of capable of forming such a sophisticated mistform.” Chiron concluded.

“All of us upstairs are arguing whether it’s a breach of his exile if he had someone else bring it here.” Dionysus said. “I say it was a bad idea to let the brat live. Could’ve won over Hecate with some other bargain. He was dangerous enough as a child.” Dionysus commented as he shrugged and took a swig of whiskey. Hedera wasn’t sure whether Dionysus’s curse had been lifted or not. Was it still whiskey by the time he tasted it?

Chiron coughed with discomfort.

Hedera sat there for a moment, processing all this. Her face was plastered with confusion. “But- how could a mist form carry on an entire conversation with me? Wouldn’t even an interactive message only have a few pre-recorded options, or something?” Hedera pulled in her shoulders and tried to be small. She couldn’t help but feel she was partially to blame for this. The message had been for her, after all.

Dionysus entered the room proper and stood beside Chiron, putting a hand on the desk. "Listen. Hespera and Clerissa aren't cut for this. Even if Olympus supported a quest they wouldn't want it to be anyone's first." Dionysus said. He looked at Hedera as though sizing her up. "Normally I wouldn't care. But my parole from this prison is still up debate years on, and I'm not letting them blame me for any less than popular choices you make about this." Dionysus said to Chiron.

Chiron waited for Dionysus to finish speaking. "The implications of this quest are great. The continuous theft from the Gods, these unknown parties with unknown goals. Mr. D is correct that sending any camper who is not fully prepared is a risk." Chiron took a deep breath inward. "A risk I am willing to take the heat for, so to speak, should it go awry." Chiron was standing his ground on the matter. Dionysus rolled his eyes. "For me to put forth this loud a recommendation for Karissa's choice of teammates is somewhat unprecedented." Chiron said,'what on earth am I doing' written all over his face. "Nevertheless Hedera, I suggest you speak with her."

Hedera nodded. She had to admit she was intimidated by Karissa. Then again, who wouldn’t be intimidated by a woman with the height and muscle mass of Wonder Woman? Not to mention Karissa appeared to be rather...unstable. Hedera wasn’t sure she could do it alone.

“Lou,” Hedera addressed her sister. “Can you come with me?”

Lou Ellen nodded in understanding. “We got this.” Lou reassured.

Chiron wheeled himself out from behind his desk. “You two are dismissed while Mr. D and I confer a little further in regards to all this.”

It was obvious to both Hecate daughters that Chiron and Dionysus were waiting for them to leave the room so that they could return to their disagreement about how Olympus would react to the quest going forward.

Lou Ellen stood and glanced nervously at Dionysus. She was visibly uncomfortable with the tension, and hurried out of the room. “Come on Hedera, let’s go find Barb- I mean Karissa.”

Once they were out of the big house and making their way across the lawn, Hedera spoke. “Thanks for coming with me. If I haven’t said that already.”

Hedera was such an overly-gracious person that she could never keep straight what she’d thanked someone for. She had a similar problem with her constant apologizing.

Lou Ellen kept her eyes forward as they made the trek toward the Aphrodite cabin. “It’s no problem at all. You kind of saved the day with Ava this morning, so I owe you.” They passed by arts and crafts and were about to pass the small bushel of trees near the canoe lake.

Hedera shrugged. “Thanks for being there for Ava until I got there.”

“I’m the counsellor, that’s kind of my job. That and making sure you all know how to lighten up once in awhile.” Lou Ellen said.

“Besides. This Aphrodite daughter…She’s kind of got a reputation. So I was probably going to tag along anyway.” Lou Ellen added.

Lou Ellen turned around to face Hedera with a graceful spin. “For back-up.” Lou smiled and wiggled her fingers as a goofy representation of magic.

Hedera’s eyebrow raised suspiciously at Lou Ellen. “What kind of reputation?”

Lou Ellen stopped walking for a moment. She’d hoped she wouldn’t have to get into it.

“Well even before all this, the fight in the dining pavilion and all that…” Lou began.

Lou Ellen was interrupted by a voice Hedera found familiar. “She’s narcissistic and unrestrained to the point of brutishness. A criminal, a fool, and ultimately a loose cannon. The dreadful coquette’s made her way around the camp in ways that even her own sisters would blush at.”

Elysia walked between Hedera and Lou Ellen. She stood tall and poised, and walked with ballet-like grace that yelled ‘trying way too hard’. She was sporting one of the orange camp T-shirts tucked into an ankle length black skirt.

Lou Ellen was wide eyed at Elysia’s rudeness. “Who exactly are you supposed to be?” Lou spat the words out and stepped up to Elysia.

“Chiron told me to escort you and ensure things go smoothly. With the respective track records of all those due to be present I can hardly blame him.” Elysia looked down at Lou Ellen with a glare both pretentious and belittling.

“Excuse me?” Lou Ellen snarled. Lou had made some mistakes in her life, but she’d done more than enough to redeem her reputation. What was this snooty priss trying to imply?

Lou Ellen turned to Hedera. “Do you know her?” she said in confusion, half asking Hedera to back her up on how ridiculous this was.

Hedera nodded. “Yeah, I do.” Hedera said in a tone that sounded like an apology. “This is Elysia.” Hedera shoved her hands in her pockets and avoided the tall relictae’s gaze.

Elysia looked caught off guard by Hedera remembering her name. She raised a hand to her collar bone daintily as she spoke. “Well. Yes.” Elysia said whilst blinking with bewilderment. She looked toward Hedera only to notice her intentionally avoiding eye contact.

Elysia huffed and snapped back to herself again.

“Apologies, I’m usually one for formalities but we have a timetable to keep.” Elysia pulled her shirt down slightly to straighten it.

Hedera nodded in agreement. “Yeah, let’s get this over with.”

Lou still looked very annoyed, but didn’t protest.

Hedera had no idea what to think of Elysia, or the situation. On one hand it would be nice to have another person there to lessen Karissa’s rage- a Harmonia daughter would be perfect for that. On the other hand, Hedera wasn’t sure whether that added safety was worth being around Elysia.

Elysia began walking ahead of the two other girls without any more delay or discussion. Her strides were short but quick, her posture more proper than was necessary. She cupped her hands into one another and laid them on her stomach so to look even more refined. Her air of professionalism felt uncanny in the camp environment. Walking behind her as if in her tow, Hedera and Lou Ellen looked like the goslings to Elysia’s mother goose.

Lou Ellen found the whole display insufferable. She had to resist the urge to use the Mist to make it look like Elysia was in a humiliating outfit. Later, Lou told herself.

She walked closer to Hedera so to be within whispering distance.

“So what exactly is her deal? Our bean pole babysitter.” Lou Ellen murmured at a volume only she and Hedera could hear.

The distance between them and cabin ten was closing.

Hedera shrugged as they walked. Her tone was just as hushed as Lou Ellen’s when she spoke. “I dunno. But she’s...”  
She paused, trying to find the right word. “Odd.” She finally decided. “Really, really odd.”

Lou Ellen took a second to mull over what Hedera had said. Typically campers at the Hecate cabin were the ones at camp with a reputation for strangeness, so Lou Ellen hesitated to judge Elysia the same way. She’d already had to deal with the stigma of being the head of the traitor cabin. The daughters of the most powerful god \ to have side with Kronos. As if the other campers wouldn’t have called her ‘freak’, anyway.

And yet Lou Ellen also felt that Hedera was right. Elysia was eccentric in her dedication to normalcy, if that was possible.

They arrived at a bright pink cabin with white lace curtains and potted flowers set on each window sill. Elysia put on her best faux smile as she approached the door and knocked with a methodical, practiced rhythm.

The deep dull sound of the knock slumped through the cabin of resting siblings. A night more tense and sleepless for the cabin’s inhabitants than any in years. Many of the Aphrodite campers laid awake ruminating about the day’s events and worried by Piper’s disappearance.

Elysia knocked again.

By the time the second knock echoed through the cabin Karissa was up. In her purple tank top and matching shorts she threw the door open, her expression made clear that she wasn’t happy about the late night visitors.

Karissa was looking out upon three girls standing in triangle formation, with Elysia less than a foot in front of her. Elysia raised her hand to her collar bone in a prepared reactive motion upon seeing Karissa- as she knew Karissa to be somewhat easily angered and was not use to staring down a woman taller than herself.

"Hello, we've been sent by Chiron to discuss the quest with you. Would you mind stepping out?" Elysia said, smiling like a woman who would like to speak to the manager.

Karissa slammed the door to the cabin closed behind her. “And this can’t wait until morning why?”

Hedera started playing with the ends of her braids anxiously. Karissa could be... frightening. To say the least.

Elysia's stage smile faltered for a moment. Her pupils shrunk at Karissa's rudeness.

"We have waited more than long enough to discuss this. The longer we postpone the more the situation develops." Elysia locked her eyes on Karissa's and smiled tightly again.

Lou Ellen raised an eyebrow at Karissa. "Don't be so ungrateful when we're trying to help. We're maybe the only people in camp on your side." Lou Ellen said in a simmering tone.

Karissa huffed. “Fine.” She crossed her arms, trying to calm herself. “Since this can’t wait let’s at least go to the dining pavilion so we won’t be overheard.”

Karissa was mostly worried about Drew overhearing.

Hedera nodded in agreement. “I think that’s a good idea.”

Elysia lowered her hand from her collar for the first time since Karissa had opened the door.

"Very well then." She stated formally with her eyes on the floor, walking toward the pavilion with the same graceful posture she'd approached the cabin with.

Lou Ellen ran her fingers through her own hair in an expression of exasperation. She looked to Hedera and pointed at Elysia, and then into her own mouth with a gagging sound.

Hedera shrugged in response to her sister. She was still unsure what to think of the girl, but she couldn’t deny there was a strong feeling about Elysia that she just couldn’t name.

Karissa marched in the back, barefoot and barely covered in her pajamas.  
Once at the dining pavilion Karissa took a seat at a random table, determined to make sure it wasn’t the Aphrodite one.

Elysia's cheek twitched almost unnoticeably at Karissa sitting down at the incorrect table. As much as Elysia hated being torn away from her life and her faith and being plopped into a world of monsters and heresy, rules made her feel at home.

And Elysia could already tell Karissa would go out of her way to disregard them.

Elysia was in no position to make a fuss over it. She sat down opposite Karissa at what happened to be the Hephaestus table.

Lou Ellen sat in the far corner on Karissa's side. She didn't really want to be near Elysia or Karissa, but of the two she found Karissa more tolerable. Compared to Elysia, Karissa was Hecate cabin material.

"Chiron has decided to break from tradition by making a recommendation regarding the campers best suited to embark on the quest with you." Elysia said as she clasped her hands together on the table as though in prayer. She wouldn't raise her gaze to meet Karissa's.

Karissa took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. She wanted so scream. “I still can’t see why this can’t wait.”  
Hedera remained silent, her suspicions finally settling in.

Elysia narrowed her eyes at Karissa. "Mr. D and Chiron are discussing tensions on Olympus regarding you being chosen for this quest, despite not being cleared of guilt. I would expect you to be more eager to clear your name before the Olympians see fit to punish you without trial."

Elysia spoke harshly out of frustration with Karissa, but she was only stating the facts.

Karissa closed her mouth. She wouldn’t admit it, but Elysia was right.  
Hedera’s eyes landed on Elysia. “So, am I supposed to be part of this quest?” She spoke up.

Elysia's face softened as her glance slided from Karissa to Hedera. "Chiron has recommended you be one of Karissa's compatriots on this quest, yes. "

She spoke as if she was sorry to give Hedera such bad news.

"As well as myself." Elysia pursed her lips and closed her eyes, her hands clasping tighter.

Lou Ellen raised an eyebrow and spoke up. "Why you two?"

Elysia opened her eyes half-lidded to respond. "We have reason to believe a powerful Hecate child is involved in the goings on of these nefarious parties."

Elysia took a deep breath inward. "And I can be the voice of reason that tames them both should they stray from the correct path."

Hedera almost couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But- I’m not very powerful. I-I’m still learning.” Hedera began to enter a panic. Entering a panic at a time like this was so embarrassing to her that that embarrassment fed back into the panic. She shook where she stood and wished she were alone so that she could lightly chew on the ends of her braids, a silly little habit that usually managed to calm her down.

“Oh, can it. If Chiron thinks you’re powerful then obviously you must be doing something right.” Karissa spoke up. “And I’m fine with it being you two. I can’t think of anyone else who would be willing, considering how I’ve totally fucked myself over. And I’ll take any help I can to clear my name.”

Lou Ellen chimed in. “Chiron and Mr.D don’t agree yet about whether to give this quest the camps’ official go-ahead, right? And big bird here doesn’t have a whole lotta time.” Lou Ellen spoke in a worried tone, as though the jab at Karissa wasn’t made consciously.

Karissa normally would have snapped at Lou Ellen’s comment, but she bit her tongue. The reality of the situation was finally settling in.

Elysia knew what Lou Ellen was implying. The possibility of sneaking out had occurred to her, but only in the context of how to prevent it if Karissa had tried. The idea of it being a necessity gnawed at Elysia’s composure almost as incessantly as Hedera’s tapping foot.

“I will not pick sides between different sects of camp administration. We are to do as we are directed to and nothing more.” Elysia’s tone had become stern and annoyed. It may have been Karissa’s quest on paper, but Elysia knew she had to establish herself as the authority of the three as soon as possible.

“So you’re just gonna let another girl fry because you don’t want to get in trouble? Aren’t you like…Christian?” Lou Ellen shot back at Elysia.

Elysia clearly took offense at Lou Ellen questioning her faith and accusing her of hypocrisy- but she couldn’t think of anything to say in reply. Establishing authority could not be going worse. Elysia simply stared at the table with a bitter pout.

“We have to go on the quest.” Karissa’s words stumbled out, full of desperation. “Elysia-“ she reached across the table and grabbed the other girl’s hand. “Please, if they don’t approve the quest you have to sneak out with me.”

Elysia felt like her back had been painlessly punctured by needles in all its major pressure points. The thin blonde hairs on her arms stood as she yanked her hand away from Karissa’s. It took not even a full second for Elysia to realize how rude and cold-hearted her gut reaction might have appeared to the other women and bury her hands in her lap. She tried to look Karissa in the eye, but couldn’t bring herself to for long.

“This camp relies on structure. It is intended to be a sanctuary from the chaos outside, and while I deplore much of its very nature what little order is to be found here has kept my mental wellbeing precariously in place.” Elysia spoke quietly, falteringly.

“But…Chiron has charged me with ensuring your wellbeing. I can’t pick and choose what rules and duties to abide by. If he finds this risk an acceptable one I’ll stand by that.” Elysia’s quivering lips and fingers finally settled as she managed to lock her eyes on Karissa’s.

Lou Ellen kicked her bare feet up onto the table, showing off her fuzzy bat pajama pants. “So if you ladies want out of here, I think I’ve got an idea how we could pull it off.”

Elysia’s pupils shrunk to the size of pinholes. “Tonight?” She squeaked.

Hedera’s eyes widened at her sister. “Y-yeah? Tonight?”

“What’s your plan.” Karissa said, leaning over the table in anticipation.

Lou Ellen looked to Karissa. “I might be able to convince everyone in cabin twenty to work together to give you cover using the mist. It wouldn’t be able to fool Dionysus, but if you move quickly we might be able to get you out.” Even Lou Ellen herself sounded somewhat uncertain.

“It could never work. Mr. D is not so daft as to allow it, and Karissa has the entire camps’ eyes upon her.” Elysia said in a dismal tone before looking to Hedera.

“Since when is it your quest?” Lou Ellen chided Elysia and Hedera both. She was surprised to see herself coming to Karissa’s defense, as she wasn’t even sure whether she completely believed Karissa to be innocent or not.

‘Since I’ve been the only sane one involved in all this’, Elysia thought to herself.

Hedera shrugged and folded her hands in her lap.

“Let’s do it.” Karissa said firmly. “How soon can everyone be ready?”

Lou Ellen planted her feet back on the ground and stood up. “Give me half an hour back at our cabin to wake everyone up and walk them through it.” Lou Ellen stated quickly before beginning to jog away.

Elysia pointed her index finger at the sky to try and grab the other’s attention before Lou Ellen ran off. “Oh, um- Wait, shouldn’t we discuss that further before we-“

Elysia lowered her hand in resignation as Lou Ellen faded into the night out of sight. She turned to Karissa. “You’re rushing into this? Without so much as a moment to mull it over?” Elysia sounded appalled.

Karissa nodded, an intense look in her green eyes. “I don’t know what’ll be waiting for me in the morning.”

Karissa stood from the table. “You’d better go get packed.” She spoke it less as a suggestion, and more as an order.


	6. A Few Airheaded Sorority Girls Look To Bathe In The Moonlight

Elysia glowered at Karissa before turning to walk away. “Perhaps if I had been there to question your decision making earlier, you wouldn’t have gotten into this.” She said once she’d reached a distance far enough that Karissa may not have heard- but still close enough to hope she had. Her usual regal strut gave off an air of tension as she marched toward her cabin to gather her things. 

Karissa had heard, and her face reddened with anger. She turned and stormed away. When Karissa reached her cabin she tried to be as quiet as possible as she quickly stuffed her backpack. 

Hedera followed after Lou Ellen, her heart pounding in her chest. “Hey- why are you doing this for us?” She asked as they opened the door to the cabin.

Lou Ellen stood inside the door frame for a moment to turn and face Hedera. “I’m doing it because Life In The Dreamhouse over there owes me money and can’t pay me back if she dies.” Lou Ellen said plainly just before smiling at Hedera. 

“Or maybe it’s because you’re my sister? And you’re supposed to trust your sister when she says she’s got a gut feeling about something?” Lou Ellen said in a high pitched mocking tone that told Hedera it was a dumb question. She put her hands on Hedera’s cheeks and pulled her face in to peck her forehead. “Come on. We got thirty minutes to teach a bunch of amateurs how to hide three people for way longer than any of us has before.” She smiled warmly and turned to enter the cabin.

Hedera’s lips curled into a small smile as she followed her sister inside. “I don’t know what to say.” She said honestly.   
This was the first time since coming to camp that Hedera had felt this loved. She immediately started packing, cramming as many dried herbs in bottles as she could fit on her person.

The door to Elysia’s cabin creeked open to shine moonlight onto the wood panel floor. It contained nothing but a single bed in the corner and a dresser holding her clothing and books.  
The room’s very design was meant to evoke warmth and balance. It was quite similar to the architecture of her dream home. If that was the case, then why did it feel so alien and detached to her? Why did it feel so disingenuous, so fraudulent? So cut off from anything that may have mattered to her?  
Elysia had spent most of her time at camp hid away in the cabin- and not out of any affection for it.  
The cabin’s enchantment blocked out all outside noise so that all she could hear were the rustling leaves and wind chimes of the surrounding garden. Upon first coming to camp, Elysia had been glad to have a space entirely to her. A space where she could sequester herself away from the chaotic alien world just outside the cabin’s window.   
A chaos that intrigued her as much as it frightened her.  
Now she hated to leave the cabin behind almost as much as she hated the cabin itself.

She walked into the cabin and pulled a sizeable satin sack from a dresser drawer, which she began to dutifully fill with her few belongings.

Lou Ellen took Ava’s hand and guided her outside the cabin, with the other members of the Hecate cabin following behind. Some carried sticks of chalk, others carried candles. Lou Ellen knew these items to not be absolutely necessary in manipulating the mist- but they made her sisters feel more confident in accomplishing the task at hand.

“Haydee?” the youngest of the sisters stage whispered to the inside of the cabin, calling for the only sibling yet to make her exit.

“Hold on- I’ll be out soon.” Hedera replied to Ava as she crammed the last of her things into her backpack. 

A minute later she joined her sisters outside. 

Soon Karissa was packed and out the door. She made her way to the Hermes cabin, after a certain boy. She knew he could be useful, and would probably jump at the chance to help her.   
She knocked at one of the windows, the one she knew was next to the bunk of Connor Stoll.

It took several soft rappings upon the window pane before Connor began to stir. He pushed his torso up with one elbow and rubbed his eyes with his other hand. He opened his eyes to see a blurry silhouette outside his window. He stood up in as silent and light-footed a manner as he could. The cabin had seventeen campers in it currently and he couldn’t afford to make a sound lest he be found out.

Working in Connor’s favor was the Hermes Cabin’s unofficial code of conduct: If you ever notice someone sneaking out, no you didn’t.  
‘

As the cabin’s counsellor for going on six years, Connor had more than enough authority to make it the official code of conduct. He just thought unofficial things were cooler than official things. 

The windows to the Hermes cabin were not capable of opening, but the cabin’s front door fell shut so slowly and quietly that it was impressive even for a son of Hermes.

“They always come back for more.” Connor said from a few feet behind Karissa.

Karissa was fully dressed, looking combat ready. She wanted to glare, but she also wanted his help. So she decided to ignore his comment.   
She turned, making eye contact with him as she spoke. “I need your help. I need you to pick the lock at the camp store.”

Connor’s grin quickly dropped from his face.

“Karissa…I’m head of this cabin, and we just got cleared of wrongdoing in this whole Thyrsus thing. If Mr. D finds out I’m involved in something…” Connor thought about Luke for the first time in a while. It felt like a scab being ripped off. “It’ll put a target on our backs again. I don’t know if I could do that to my brothers and sisters.”

Karissa was taken back by his reaction. Usually she could get what she wanted from guys just by asking. And if that didn’t work then she could charm speak her way to what she wanted. But the tone in his voice made her hesitate. 

He paused for a beat to think. He looked at the ground, and then at her eyes. It was about more than wanting Karissa. It was about knowing she’d done nothing wrong, and that something horrible could become of her.

He hated choosing who to let down. 

“How bad do you need it?” he said more optimistically. He wanted quite badly for her to convince him.

“Look, I need ambrosia and nectar and maybe a first aid kit. It’s crucial.”

The other shoe dropped in Connor’s mind. Her attire had only made him suspicious, but this confirmed that she was leaving tonight.  
This wasn’t some frivolous request.

“Alright. You’ll want more than one kit, though.” Connor offered his hand. “Let’s head over there before someone sees us out here.”

Ava whispered up to Hedera. “Can you make me a promise?” She said with hope in her voice.

Karissa surprisingly took his hand. This wasn’t just because she wanted to stay on his good side, but because she was scared. The contact of holding hands was comforting to her, and it was something she hadn’t done in a long time.   
“Thanks, I really owe you one for this.”

Hedera looked down at Ava. “What is it, hun?” Hedera asked as she slipped her hand into Ava’s.

“She’s gotta be out there right? Elena Belle?” Ava paused. She kept her eyes locked on what was straight ahead of her. “I know you have a lot of important things to do. I know other people are in danger.”  
Ava looked up to Hedera and spoke with a quiver.

“But you’ll save her if you find her, right? Can you promise?

Hedera bit her lip. She couldn’t promise this, the guilt would drag her down. “I-“ she paused. “I promise I’ll do the best I can.” She gave her hand a squeeze.

Ava nodded sagely. She had some understanding of how grand a request it really was. She understood just enough of the world to sympathize with her older sister’s upcoming struggle. 

“Alright.” Lou Ellen announced.

“Places people. Morgan, help Samantha stay focused. Ava, you and me will focus on Elysia.”

Lou Ellen barked out commands with efficiency. It was jarring to see when she was typically so laid back and fun loving.

“And you!” Lou Ellen pointed at Hedera.

“Get outta here.” Lou Ellen said with a big grin and an exaggerated New York accent as she pointed into the dark of the night.

Hedera’s heart pounded, but she smiled nevertheless. “I love you all.” She declared before running off into the darkness. 

Elysia fumbled down the path back to the dining pavilion. Many of the camps’ main walkways had some form of lighting, but they would only be lit when necessary. Considering campers were not meant to be roaming about at this hour, Elysia found herself walking past unlit braziers and trees that blocked much of the natural moonlight. It was while fumbling through this darkness that she bumped shoulder to shoulder with a girl who was moving much faster than her.

“Shit-“ Hedera cursed as she fell to the ground from the collision. When her vision focused and she saw she’d run into Elysia she was relieved.   
“Oh good you’re ready.” Hedera quickly stood as she spoke.

Elysia vigorously brushed the dirt off her skirt. Her cheeks had a slight tinge of pink that was difficult to spot in the lighting. “Yes, quite. And you’re vulgar in your vernacular. And apparently we’re both quite observant!” Elysia spat out before centering herself again. “Ugh. I’m sorry. I’m just so overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of what we are about to do.”

“Do you know where we are meant to be meeting for our departure?” Elysia inquired.

“I think back at the dining pavilion. We never really talked about that…” Hedera noted, realizing how stupid all of them were. “And I will use whatever words I please! 

Connor walked up to the store’s front entrance. He hesitated to let go of her hand, but had to do the work. “I got this.” He said before jogging to the side and effectively vanishing into some nearby bush. The door’s lock clicked not fourteen seconds later.

The door swung open to reveal Connor already inside.

“Trust me, it’s faster to open it for you than it would’ve been to have you follow me.”  
This would have been the perfect moment for a quip, but Connor was too diligently focused on the task at hand. “Grab what you need.”

Karissa was quick. She grabbed a backpack from the shelves and started packing as much as she could fit. She filled it to the brim with food and supplies.   
“Alright got it, let’s go.” She waved at Connor to follow as she made her exit.

Connor kept pace beside Karissa. “So…I don’t know a lot about this quest but it sounds pretty dangerous.” He looked at Karissa. “And you look pretty prepared. And I know you’re one hell of a fighter. But it’s your first quest, isn’t it? So while we’re breaking rules…” Connor looked up at the sky above them as he mulled over what he was about to say. “No, nevermind. Terrible idea. Just don’t die, okay? You’re really cool.” He smiled at her and forced a huge wink to try and make her laugh.

His wink did win a small laugh. “No, what was your idea?” She asked. 

Connor waved a hand at Karissa dismissively. “Nah it was just. I was thinking I could try to tag along. Everyone knows that never goes right, though. Groups of three were a safety precaution way before they were a tradition.” He shrugged with clear disappointment. “It would be great though, right? I could really help you guys along.”

Karissa shrugged. “Would be great. But your cabin needs you, and you’re right…it was a terrible idea.” She laughed a little at that.   
“But. Thanks again.” She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “See you around, Stoll.”

Connor touched his cheek lightly with the tips of his fingers as if to check whether the warmth he felt radiating from the kiss was real or imagined. “Yeah…” He whispered dreamily before realizing she couldn’t hear the reply. “Oh yeah. Yeah! See you around.” He said loud enough for her to hear but not so loud as to draw unnecessary attention. He turned and began the rapid stealth dash back to his cabin. 

“Now you’re simply being spiteful.” Elysia said to Hedera regarding her word choice. “If you’re going to dress yourself as a delinquent the least you could do is try to subvert people’s expectations by behaving with some politesse.” Elysia jabbed as she continued the trek toward the pavilion.

“Excuse me?” Hedera spoke meekly. She was grateful to see Karissa running towards them. Good, a change of topic. 

“You ladies ready?” Karissa asked, shouldering the two backpacks.

Hedera nodded and held up her bag of things. “Lou Ellen packed us some snacks!” She said giddily. 

Elysia straightened her camp T-shirt by tugging it downward with one hand. She held the satin sack aloft in display. “As I can be. I was not given much time to gather due supplies.”   
Elysia lowered her hands to her sides and looked mildly impressed. “Though to your due credit you seem to have prepared quite competently.” She said with a high pitched ‘hmph’ sound and a nod to indicate her approval. The motion felt rehearsed.  
“I had a little help. Now let’s get the hell out of here.” Karissa said, beginning to jog towards half-blood hill. 

Hedera followed close behind, her anxiety rising higher and higher the closer they got to the camp borders.

Elysia lifted her ankle-length skirt with one hand as she walked briskly behind the other two women. Half-blood hill had already had a momentous night even before this- and the bright glow of the moon above almost felt like it was acknowledging that through the potency of its soft white light. 

The area surrounding the three of them began to visually warp and skew, as though the girl’s image was a still-wet painting that someone had just dragged their fingers across. The refracting geometric shapes of light released a barely visible green vapor with every disorienting twist they made, and the spectacle was gone as quickly as it had started.  
They were officially mystically incognito.   
Though the entire episode had lasted but a few seconds, Elysia found it difficult to keep her footing on the hill for a moment. The golden fleece hanging from the tree atop the hill granted such great fertility that the grass grew marginally faster the closer it was to the hilltop. Though it all had been cut at roughly the same time, the grass at the hill’s base barely brushed their shoes- unlike the blades that now brushed the ladies’ knees.   
“Great night to get some air, right ladies?” A familiar deity in a leopard print jacket said in a dark tone from beneath the shade of the tree.  
Elysia dropped her sack.  
Hedera let out a noise of alarm, that came out almost as a squeak.   
“Fuck-“ Karissa cursed, throwing her packs to the ground. “Well this is just great. How are you doing tonight Mr D?

“Annoyed.” He said as he walked out into clearer view, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his cargo shorts. He eyed Karissa’s combat attire with a clinical eye. “You sure look ready for something.”

“I wouldn’t happen to know what that something could be, would I? You wouldn’t be stupid enough to go behind our back about that, would you Contessa?” He looked at Karissa with his eyes narrowed. 

He looked beyond Karissa to Elysia and Hedera. “And you two. I’d expect this of Kara, but you?”  
He shook his head in feigned disappointment as Elysia lowered hers in shame.  
He made a ‘Tsk tsk’ sound with his lips in a mocking impression of a paternal figure- a figure he would never want them to see him as. “Sneaking out of your cabins to swim in the lake.”

Elysia raised her head to look at Dionysus with a look of confusion. “Swim in the…?”  
Elysia giggled a blatantly fake giggle. “Yes! To swim in the lake. That’s precisely what we left our cabins to do together. We are but a few airheaded sorority girls looking to bathe in the moonlight in privacy!” Elysia announced a bit too loudly, her teeth clenched so tightly they looked like they might chip.   
Dionysus nodded. “That’s what I thought you were going to say.” He shook his head in sincere regret for what he was about to do. “And I’m out here on the hill thinking about just how badly I need someone to bring me back my Thyrsus. And how my sentence at this camp is on the line if Zeus finds out another thief robbed us while under my watch.”

Dionysus walked up to Karissa until he was but half a foot in front of her and stared her down. “Mulling over how heroes and their selfish impulses get me into more trouble than they’re worth.” He let out a deep sigh. “Sure would be nice if this whole nightmare disappeared. Maybe prove to Olympus that this didn’t happen under my nose, get my Thyrsus back in the right hands…”   
Dionysus shrugged. “Too bad I can’t do anything to help that happen.”   
“Anyway. You ladies have a nice swim.” He patted Karissa on the shoulder in a brotherly fashion at first- before tugging her down to his level. “And don’t fuck this up.” He whispered before releasing her. 

”  
“You ladies ready?” Karissa asked, shouldering the two backpacks.

Hedera nodded and held up her bag of things. “Lou Ellen packed us some snacks!” She said giddily. 

Elysia straightened her camp T-shirt by tugging it downward with one hand. She held the satin sack aloft in display. “As I can be. I was not given much time to gather due supplies.”   
Elysia lowered her hands to her sides and looked mildly impressed. “Though to your due credit you seem to have prepared quite competently.” She said with a high pitched ‘hmph’ sound and a nod to indicate her approval. The motion felt rehearsed.  
“I had a little help. Now let’s get the hell out of here.” Karissa said, beginning to jog towards half-blood hill. 

Hedera followed close behind, her anxiety rising higher and higher the closer they got to the camp borders.

Elysia lifted her ankle-length skirt with one hand as she walked briskly behind the other two women. Half-blood hill had already had a momentous night even before this- and the bright glow of the moon above almost felt like it was acknowledging that through the potency of its soft white light. 

The area surrounding the three of them began to visually warp and skew, as though the girl’s image was a still-wet painting that someone had just dragged their fingers across. The refracting geometric shapes of light released a barely visible green vapor with every disorienting twist they made, and the spectacle was gone as quickly as it had started.  
They were officially mystically incognito.   
Though the entire episode had lasted but a few seconds, Elysia found it difficult to keep her footing on the hill for a moment. The golden fleece hanging from the tree atop the hill granted such great fertility that the grass grew marginally faster the closer it was to the hilltop. Though it all had been cut at roughly the same time, the grass at the hill’s base barely brushed their shoes- unlike the grass that now brushed the girl’s knees.   
“Great night to get some air, right ladies?” A familiar deity in a leopard print jacket said in a dark tone from beneath the shade of the tree.  
Elysia dropped her sack.  
Hedera let out a noise of alarm, that came out almost as a squeak.   
“Fuck-“ Karissa cursed, throwing her packs to the ground. “Well this is just great. How are you doing tonight Mr D?

“Annoyed.” He said as he walked out into clearer view, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his cargo shorts. He eyed Karissa’s combat attire with a clinical eye. “You sure look ready for something.”

“I wouldn’t happen to know what that something could be, would I? You wouldn’t be stupid enough to go behind our back about that, would you Contessa?” He looked at Karissa with his eyes narrowed. 

He looked beyond Karissa to Elysia and Hedera. “And you two. I’d expect this of Kara, but you?”  
He shook his head in feigned disappointment as Elysia lowered hers in shame.  
He made a ‘Tsk tsk’ sound with his lips in a mocking impression of a paternal figure- a figure he would never want them to see him as. “Sneaking out of your cabins to swim in the lake.”

Elysia raised her head to look at Dionysus with a look of confusion. “Swim in the…?”  
Elysia giggled a blatantly fake giggle. “Yes! To swim in the lake. That’s precisely what we left our cabins to do together. We are but a few airheaded sorority girls looking to bathe in the moonlight in privacy!” Elysia announced a bit too loudly, her teeth clenched so tightly they looked like they might chip.   
Dionysus nodded. “That’s what I thought you were going to say.” He shook his head in sincere regret for what he was about to do. “And I’m out here on the hill thinking about just how badly I need someone to bring me back my Thyrsus. And how my forty seven year sentence at this camp is on the line if Zeus finds out another thief robbed us while under my watch.”

Dionysus walked up to Karissa until he was but half a foot in front of her and stared her down. “Mulling over how heroes and their selfish impulses get me into more trouble than they’re worth.” He let out a deep sigh. “Sure would be nice if this whole nightmare disappeared. Maybe prove to Olympus that this didn’t happen under my nose, get my Thyrsus back in the right hands…”   
Dionysus shrugged. “Too bad I can’t do anything to help that happen.”   
“Anyway. You ladies have a nice swim.” He patted Karissa on the shoulder in a brotherly fashion at first- before tugging her down to his level. “And don’t fuck this up.” He whispered before releasing her. 

“Woops.” Dionysus dropped the Mistform card Hedera had found on the hill earlier, along with a wallet. “Clumsy me.” 

He slowly began to walk back down the hill.

Hedera was quick to snatch the card up. She stuffed it into her pocket, completely wide eyed.   
“Oh, we will Mr. D!” Karissa promised, grabbing Dionysuses’ wallet from the ground before picking up her packs.

Dionysus waved a hand up with his back still turned to the girls. “Just don’t run into any raving lunatics.” He groaned the words more than he spoke them. 

With that, he left earshot.

Elysia held her satin sack of belongings close to her chest and tried to process what had just occurred. She turned to Karissa.

“We don’t even have so much as a single lead as to where to go. Where exactly are we headed?” Elysia asked judgmentally.

“Slow your roll there Joan of Arc. I’m just as clueless as you are.” Karissa admitted with a bitter shrug. “I was hoping you guys would have ideas.” 

Hedera spoke up. “First let’s find a way to the city. That seems like a good start.”

Elysia walked toward the camp’s perimeter boundary. “It would be a sixteen hour walk before we reach Manhattan.” Elysia stated with exasperation. “And while I’m sure you’re both quite fond of roughing it through woodlands and walking alongside lonesome urban roadways, I must woefully offer an alternative.” The sarcasm sounded strange coming from her.

“There is somewhere in nearby Brentwood where we can stay in the interim…Though it may not be quite your cup of tea.” Elysia stated in a very wooden and professional tone of voice. She did not sound happy about it, 

As odd as Elysia was, Hedera had a feeling that she could trust her. Hedera looked to Karissa. “It’s your call.”  
“Why is it my call?” Karissa protested.   
“It’s your quest.” Hedera replied.   
Karissa went silent. It was finally sinking in. And she was terrified.   
“I’m down.” Karissa said finally. “Lead the way.”

Elysia was surprised to see Karissa yielding to her judgement, even slightly. “Oh? Well then. I suppose I shall. The moon’s position designates that direction as southeast.” She hesitantly pointed a limp finger in a few different directions as she figured their whereabouts. “It should be but a few hours’ trek for us to grace the outskirts of Brentwood.” Elysia reported to the other two girls. “Most likely?” She offered a tinge of uncertainty.  
Navigation was not Elysia’s forte in any way, but she had to pretend to be an expert if she was to earn their respect. This was the first time Hedera and Karissa had relied upon Elysia for guidance- the moment of truth.

“I’m sure the convent will be pleased to house some misguided wayward souls such as yourselves.” Elysia smiled faintly. “Though Mother Mary Denis may have words of contention for me…” She said in a withdrawn tone.

“Wait- you’re taking us where?!” Karissa demanded.   
Hedera too seemed miffed by the idea, just by her facial expression. “Wayward souls? Are you serious?”

The skin around Elysia’s eyes seemed to pull backward and become tense. Her fingers shook. “We will spend a minimum of a night at the convent at which I have lived the past five years of my young life.” Elysia stepped up to Karissa. “Do not insult me by acting so sickened at the thought of living in the home that I’d have done anything to return to.” Elysia raised her voice slightly. “I did not have to offer you my assistance on this quest. And the sisters need not offer us time or rest.” Elysia said.

“And yes. Wayward souls. You wouldn’t have been thrust into any of this if you had simply-“ Elysia bit her tongue. 

There was a moment of tension as Elysia took a deep breath and reached a hand up to her collar to grasp something through the fabric of her shirt. The woods were dark and the trees that now surrounded them obscured much of the moonlight.  
She faced Karissa and Hedera. Instead of a self-righteous scowl the two girls were met with a wistful look of detachment. “We should get moving. There are likely to be monsters scouring the perimeter of the camp waiting for our kind to wander away from its safety.” 

Elysia pointed into the woods. “This way. Please.” She said in what was more a plea than an order. 

She looked tired.

Karissa physically took a step back from Elysia as she spoke. 

“I-“ Karissa stuttered out, but never finished the phrase.

“Sorry.” Hedera mumbled out in her place. “That was inconsiderate of us. Let’s go.”   
Hedera walked close to Elysia, with Karissa following behind them.

Hedera thought back to the promise she’d made to Ava that they would hold a protection ceremony for Elena Belle tomorrow. A promise she now wouldn’t be able to keep.

She could only hope little Ava wouldn’t hold it against her. That she’d understand.

Elysia put her eyes forward again. “Do either of you have any navigation ability? Mine is sadly quite rudimentary.” Elysia changed the subject.

“I’ve got a decent sense of direction.” Hedera shrugged. 

“Good, because I know jack shit.” Karissa spoke, noticing the change in body language between them. She took a mental note to pay more attention to that.


	7. Demigods Make Small Talk With Nuns

Hours passed in relative silence. Elysia kept her hand to her collar for much of the walk.

Elysia had intentionally let the three of them fall to silence. She despised small talk.

Mother Mary Denis had always said that shallow talk bred shallow minds.

The longer they walked the more the background noise transferred from the buzz of cicadas to the far-off whirr of a small cityscape. 

Elysia kept finding herself glancing behind to look at Hedera. Certainly someone had to keep an eye on her, yes? For all they knew she could have been up to some sort of trouble while lagging a few feet behind. Yes, that was more than enough reason for Elysia to steal occasional glances at the short green haired goth as they made their journey.

A four-story stone building was slowly coming into view over the trees. Large stone bricks the color of sand and a magnificent Gambrel roof covered in small triangular windows. The Gambrel roof framed a gigantic circular stain glass window far above the front entrance. The girls were but ten miles outside the city of Brentwood, with modern society visible not far beyond the convent itself.  
A short stone wall in front of the parking lot read “Saint Dymphna Convent Community”.  
The parking lot and the building itself were surrounded by lush hedges. The front door was round at its top and embedded with black metal studs that gave it a medieval aesthetic.

Elysia looked up at the building and stopped in her tracks just before setting foot on the asphalt.

“You two continue forward and knock. I require a moment to myself.” Elysia bowed her head.

Karissa shook her head. “I don’t think we should split up.” Karissa didn’t want to admit it, but her real reason was that she didn’t want to go in without Elysia, for fear of not being welcomed.

“Then simply stand before the entrance’s threshold until I come to join you. We’ll remain in each other’s line of sight.” Elysia closed her eyes and began to breathe more slowly. 

The gigantic circular stained-glass window high above the convent’s front door seemed to glow from within, and the night was becoming uncharacteristically cold for the summer.

Hedera nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. Karissa?” Hedera looked up at her. Quite literally, as Karissa was a full foot taller than Hedera.

“Fine.” Karissa replied. “Let’s go.”

The convent’s size was more foreboding from just in front of the entrance door. There was a metal slot in the wall with a pull-down handle labeled “BABY DROP OFF BOX”. 

Elysia turned her back to Hedera and Karissa, but stood at a side-angle from which Hedera could see Elysia’s lips moving- presumably in prayer. 

The moonlight could be seen softly reflecting in small glints off the tree tops of the forest.  
The atmosphere swirled with a chill of anxiety, an uneasy presence that may have simply been Hedera’s own discomfort.

“That’s… welcoming.” Karissa finally decided on a word. She pointed to the baby drop off box.  
Hedera shuddered. She couldn’t imagine why someone could just leave a child in a box. “Yeah that’s pretty awful.” Hedera replied. 

Elysia threw her arms out to her sides and stomped her foot. Her body tensed and her shoulders raised- before she relaxed again and put her left hand to her forehead in exasperation. 

Karissa and Hedera couldn’t hear what Elysia was saying. She almost looked to be arguing with the forest. Her shoulders slumped in what looked like a large exhale before she turned around and began to walk toward the convent’s entrance to meet Hedera and Karissa.

“This place is a little creepy.” Karissa said when they rejoined. “What’s with that?” She asked, gesturing to the drop off box.

Elysia’s expression had a formal, detached quality. She interlaced her fingers and brought her clasped hands to her chest. “The sisters must work for the world that should be, but also acknowledge what it currently is in reality.” Elysia recited as though she was quoting a passage from a book. “And what it is…” Elysia took a deep breath. “is unpredictable.” She said in a thin voice.

“Mothers are not always as they should be toward their children.” 

Elysia knocked on the large wooden door.

Hedera didn’t want to pry, but she also wanted to ask if Elysia was okay. She glanced up at her for a moment, before drawing her attention to the door.

The door creaked open to reveal a woman who looked to be in her late sixties or early seventies. The woman was barely five feet tall, her cheeks dragged low down her face and the skin around her lips wrinkled into shallow creases. Her hands shook from the weight of the door. She wore a long dark blue coif and a dark blue sleeveless dress that went down to her ankles, above a white long-sleeve undershirt with poofy sleeves. 

It seemed like the woman’s eyes were always wide, as if she was trying to get a better look at what was in front of her. Putting that together with her frail frame and the large round glasses that magnified her eyes? She looked like an owl.

She also looked like she’d been crying.

The old woman’s confused expression shifted into a warm little smile. 

“Lissy?” She asked with a glisten in her eye.

Elysia smiled back, but it seemed less sincere. “Sister Mary Genesius.” Elysia said, acknowledging her old friend. “My traveling companions and I are in need of shelter for the night, perhaps longer- should you have the mercy.” Elysia was being even more polite in her mannerisms than usual.

Both Karissa and Hedera remained silent, for fear of stepping out of line.  
Hedera couldn’t stop staring at the old woman. It could have been her paranoia, but the woman’s owl like features rubbed Hedera the wrong way.

Sister Mary Genesius eyed Hedera and Karissa up and down. Her smile drooped away for a moment. She pushed her glasses further up onto her nose with a single finger from her free hand. “Yes, yes of course…” She put both her hands upon the door to push it further open with some effort. “Do come in while I retrieve Mother Mary Denis and tell her you’ve returned.” Sister Mary Genesius said before she shuffled away, her basic black leather shoes clicking loudly against the checker tile floor. 

The building’s electric lights were ‘hidden’ behind pillars and at the top of walls- giving the entire building a candle-lit feel. Elysia stepped out of the cold and into a small room that led into a larger hall. The slightest sound echoed against the architecture so that it rang hauntingly off the high ceiling. The architecture was elaborate and undeniably Catholic.  
Elysia took a deep breath inward and very quickly genuflected as Sister Mary Genesius waddled down the main hall.

Hedera wished Ava was there. Ava could help soothe the nerves that were chilling her to the bone. Hedera didn’t feel welcomed here, and she could only imagine that Karissa felt the same.  
The half-bloods followed close behind the older nun. Karissa’s eyes wandered, wondering how long they’d need to stay.

Elysia lagged behind Karissa and Hedera by about five feet. The large hall was in fact a cathedral, filled with pews and a large crucifix hanging above the opposite side- held aloft by many thin transparent strings. A smaller hall was just between the cathedral and the entrance lobby, allowing one to turn left or right rather than enter the cathedral itself. 

Sister Mary Genesius stopped walking half-way down the aisle of the cathedral. Kneeling before the Cathedral’s chancel was another woman in a habit identical to the one worn by Sister Mary Genesius. “Sister..” Mary Genesius addressed the kneeling woman quietly. It was hard to tell whether the quiver in Sister Genesius’s voice was from her age, or from her constantly being on the verge of tears. “Keep these three here while I go grab Mother Mary Denis?” Mary Genesius asked gently and adjusted her glasses again.

The kneeling woman stood and nodded, her back still turned to the other four women. “But of course.” She offered. Her voice alone made it clear that she was far younger than Mary Genesius. She turned to face them as Mary Genesius took small yet rapid footsteps toward the door at the back of the cathedral. 

The woman looked to be in her late twenties to early thirties. Her complexion was a deep olive tan color, her eyebrows thick but sculpted. Her face was long and round at the chin with a strong nose and large gentle brown eyes. She opened her arms in welcome. “Sister Mary Bibliana, at your service.” 

She smiled at each of the three girls in turn being sure to look each in the eye as she did so.

Hedera awkwardly held out her hand to shake, to be polite. “It’s nice to meet you.”  
Karissa nodded in agreement, but kept her mouth shut.

Sister Mary Bibliana took Hedera’s hand and gripped it with greater firmness than would be expected from a person of her frame. 

“You’re Elysia’s friends, yes? Clearly from out of town.” As far as comments regarding Hedera’s clothes go, Bibliana could have been far ruder.

Hedera nodded. “Yeah… out of town.” She dropped her hand and looked to Karissa.  
Karissa had her arms crossed, and Hedera could tell by her body language that she was both irritated and anxious.

Elysia smiled more genuinely now. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Sister Bibliana. “Sister Mary Bibliana.” Elysia held out her hand, but with her palm facing toward the floor. Sister Mary Bibliana lightly held Elysia’s fingers in her hand for a brief moment before both women lowered their hands. “It’s a pleasure to have you staying with us again Lissy.” Bibliana said with a coy tilt of her head.

“I’ve missed you.” Elysia and Bibliana said at the same time.

Elysia cleared her throat. “All of you, of course.” Elysia chuckled a nervous chuckle. “I still view this place as my home.” Elysia looked with awe up at the large crucifix held aloft by wires above the chancel. 

Sister Bibliana turned her gaze up at the crucifix and became just as transfixed as Elysia. “Yes, well-“ Sister Bibliana’s sentence was cut off by a door opening at the back of the cathedral, left of the church ambulatory. 

Sister Mary Genesius shuffled out with another woman in tow behind her. The other woman was noticeably older. She wore a large white cornette upon her head that barely hid silver hairs that had clearly been dyed blonde. The woman stood taller than Bibliana but shorter than Elysia- then again, she had a slight hunch. Her face was square and the slit of her mouth quite wide. Her skin was pale and thin from age; it covered her body like a white sheet through which one could see the occasional thick purple vein. Her eyes were beady with large pupils that looked as they could see sin. Most of her body’s shape was obscured by the size and weight of her habit. Her cane clacked against the cathedral tiles as she moved. The cane was thick and black with an apple as the handle knob atop it.

“To our guests, I introduce Reverend Mother Mary Denis.” Sister Mary Genesius announced somewhat casually.

Elysia’s spine straightened.

“You are lucky to have arrived before compline. Otherwise we may not have been available to allow you shelter until the next morn.” Reverend Mother Mary Denis’ words flowed at the pace of molasses. 

Her head turned toward Karissa and Hedera. “And who might you be?”

Karissa finally spoke up. “I’m Karissa.” She wasn’t as polite as Hedera, and didn’t offer a hand to shake. 

Hedera could hardly look at the woman in the eyes as she spoke. “I’m Hedera, we’re friends of Elysia.” 

“Thanks for letting us crash for the night.” Karissa added.

The Reverend Mother nodded and darted her gaze between the three visitors at a rapid pace.  
“Of course. God offers shelter from the storm for the weary traveler.” She said at a volume that would not have been audible were it not for the cathedrals’ wonderful acoustics. 

Reverend Mother Denis turned to Sister Genesius and Sister Bibliana. “Show these women to their quarters for the night.” The Reverend Mother said raising a finger sagely. “And Elysia…”

Elysia’s face blanched as Mother Denis turned to face her with all the grace of an outdated animatronic. “I trust you’ll remember the way to the kitchen, come the morn?” the Reverend Mother offered in what may have been a friendly joke.

“Yes, mother.” Elysia let slip a Mona Lisa smile as she bowed her head.

Sister Mary Bibliana began to walk toward the entrance of the cathedral. “This way for the night, please.” She addressed the three girls as she passed them.

Karissa and Hedera followed in tow.

Hedera kept her head down, her hands stuffing into her pockets. She had never felt more out of place in her life. Being a child of magic, a Christian community wasn’t exactly inviting.  
Sister Bibliana turned right at the hall that connected the cathedral to the lobby. The hall was lined with tall windows on one side, with small spotlights illuminating the wall space between them. It maintained the aesthetic of the hall-lit-by-torches one might picture a convent having, but far more modern and open.

For now, the windows looked out only at the dark of night.

“We don’t bite, you realize.” Sister Bibliana said while keeping her face forward as she directed the three guests further down the corridor.

Hedera jumped. “I’m sorry I- I’ve never been to a place like this before.”  
Sister Bibliana tilted her head for a moment. “I can see how that’d be a little jarring. You’ve just been making faces like you ate some bad shellfish, that’s all.” She stopped walking and stood beside one wooden door alongside many others. “This is where you’ll be staying for the night. And if the Reverend Mother asks, I don’t know what it’s like to eat shellfish.” Sister Bibliana winked at Hedera. 

Elysia stifled a laugh.

Hedera was confused, but she smiled and nodded awkwardly. 

“It’ll be our secret.” Karissa assured her.  
Sister Bibliana opened the door to the bedroom. “There’s only one bed, as I’m afraid we’re full in our other rooms. We keep a good stock of sleeping bags if you like.” The nun offered.

Elysia quickly entered the room as if she hadn’t heard Biliania, taking in the familiar surroundings.

“Sleeping bags would be lovely.” Karissa smiled at the nun.

Karissa turned to the other girls. “And I’m sure these ladies will let me take the bed. Isn’t that right?”  
Her voice was soothing, and laced with charm speak.

Elysia remained silent as she gently pressed her hand against the far wall of the bedroom, just below the small crucifix mounted there. The room had only a bed, the crucifix, and a small bedside table- along with plenty of open floor space. There was a window beside the crucifix on the far wall, and a single candle on the bedside table.

“Elysia, dear?” Sister Bibliana prompted Elysia to answer Karissa’s question. 

“Yes Jana?” Elysia replied absent-mindedly as she stared out the bedroom window into the night.

Sister Bibliana chuckled uncomfortably. Jana had been her civilian name, and Elysia let it slip out without thinking. 

“You were asked a question.”

Elysia finally turned around. “Hm?” She inquired in a lilting tone.

“Karissa is taking the bed.” Hedera filled in. “I think that she deserves it.” 

“Oh I agree.” Karissa nodded, keeping her charming tone. “Don’t you agree, Elysia?”

“I see no issue with it. I was prepared to take a vow of poverty before I left this place; I see no reason to argue against resting on the floor.” Elysia replied unenthusiastically. 

Sister Mary Bibliana looked at Karissa with an analytical eye.

“Great! It’s settled then.” Karissa’s smile was dazzling. She plopped herself on the bed. 

“Thank you for your hospitality, sister.” Karissa said as she turned her attention back to Sister Bibliana.

“But of course.” Sister Bibliana said with a bow of her head. “I’ll be back with those sleeping bags, and then I’ll see you three at breakfast.” She closed the door gradually.

Elysia turned to face the other two girls. “You’re lucky Sister Bibliana was the one designated to escort us. The others may not have been so playful in addressing your rude silences.” Elysia chided them bluntly. She wrung her hands together, running her fingers between one another anxiously.  
“Hey, I was being quiet so I wouldn’t say anything rude.” Karissa said defensively.  
Hedera remained silent, though she played with the ends of her braids nervously.

Elysia rubbed one of her temples with two fingers as she exhaled heavily. The display seemed intentionally overdramatic. “At least you found the voice with which to be cordial with her toward the end of the encounter. I won’t deign to consider what the Mother Reverend thinks of me now. That I would give up my pursuit of being wed to the Father to live elsewhere for reasons unknown? Perhaps she’d understand that.” Elysia trailed her fingertips against the beads of her rosary to release stress. “But in her eyes, I have now given up on the life I abandoned God to pursue, and returned to her doorstep to flaunt my shameful taste in compatriots.” Elysia bemoaned. 

It almost seemed like her speech became more unnecessarily verbose the more irritated she became.  
Hedera finally spoke up. “If you think we’re something to be ashamed of then I’m regretting coming here.”

Karissa’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, this isn’t about you. This is about our quest. Now be nice or shut up.” 

It took a lot of willpower for Karissa to not to curse.

“Are you under the impression I want to be here?” Elysia said with her eyes on Hedera. “We are here out of necessity. We were in no position to battle our way through those woods had some sort of pagan beast attacked.” Elysia stated flatly. “Here you are talking about whether you feel welcome, and worrying about which place to sleep is most comfortable…while reminding me that we are on a quest?” Elysia gritted her teeth. “I am the only person here who took the danger into serious account! I am the only one here who put her own best interests aside to the benefit of the quest.” Elysia huffed.  
“I am returning to a home that views me with disdain so that we might have safe passage.” Elysia was putting a great deal of effort into hiding her anger beneath a tone of professionalism. 

She was failing.  
Someone knocked on the door.  
Karissa was glad for the interruption. She shot up and answered the door.  
Hedera held her head down and stuffed her hands into her pockets. She didn’t like the thought of making Elysia uncomfortable, but it was clear she had just done so.  
Sister Mary Bibliana looked to Karissa with a concerned expression having likely overheard the small argument. She held out two sleeping bags and smiled. Her eyes looked apologetic. “I do hope you manage to feel at home for at least a moment of your rest.” 

Karissa was speechless for a moment.  
“Thank you, sister.” She managed to say with some humility.  
She gave Karissa the bags and bowed her head before beginning to walk off down the hall.  
Elysia had closed her eyes tightly and pursed her lips the moment Sister Bibliana spoke, ashamed that she and her companions had made their ungratefulness so apparent to their hosts. Elysia stood in front of the window, gazing out at the moon as a ploy to avoid socializing further. Elysia kept her face tensed until Hedera spoke up. 

When the door closed Karissa passed a sleeping bag to each of the other women.

“Well, goodnight ladies.” Karissa laid down on the bed and faced the wall, making it clear that she was done talking.  
Hedera unrolled her sleeping bag and sat with her back against the wall. She looked over to Elysia.  
“I’m sorry if things got a little heated earlier. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Thank you.” Elysia lowered her hands to her sides after fidgeting with her rosary for longer than was appropriate by her standards of etiquette. “I suppose…I shouldn’t have been so quick to snap at you.” Elysia said softly. 

Elysia looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. “You come from a family of farmers, yes?” She turned to face Hedera.

Hedera nodded, looking over to Elysia. “Yeah, why do you ask?” 

Hedera honestly was surprised by Elysia’s willingness to make small talk.  
“Oh, well…” Elysia sounded a bit caught off guard. She lifted her shoulders an inch and let them drop again in a sad excuse for a shrug. “Just one of the smaller details one learns working as an occasional aid to Chiron.” 

Elysia leaned her hips against the wall behind her and let her hands fall into her lap. It was the first confirmation either of the other two women had seen that Elysia was capable of relaxing her posture.

“A simple life of hard work and family.” Elysia smiled warmly to herself at the thought. “Sounds quite nice.”

Hedera shrugged. “It was just my dad and I. As a distant legacy of Demeter he had no problem tending to the crops on his own. I was never able to help out much…” Hedera trailed off.

Elysia looked up from the floor and looked into Hedera’s eyes properly. “He sounds like a good man. Our kind's family lives are rarely so idyllic. And your mother?” Elysia pretended for a moment that they could speak about these things normally. Pretended she could ignore the fear of heresy or tempting higher powers and just be two young adults discussing family. 

“Did you get the chance to know her?”

Hedera held her eyes for a moment before looking away. “No. I’ve never met her. I’ve tried reaching out but she’s never there.”  
Hedera hugged her legs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. “What about you?”

“My father made sure to keep his distance. Mother has made her presence known in many tiny ways, but I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting her directly.” Elysia explained. “Just her legacy that I carry with me against my will, as all half-bloods do. The occasional person claiming to be close to her so that I may finally feel familial toward someone.” 

Elysia’s expression became cold. Though she kept her eyes on Hedera, she looked as though she was looking straight through Hedera at some ghost behind her.

Elysia cleared her throat to ground herself back into the present. “Yes, well then…”

Hedera nodded. “I haven’t even had that.” 

When Hedera noticed Elysia’s stare, she fought back the urge to check whether anyone was behind her. 

“What is it?” Hedera asked.  
“Just thoughts it’s best I not dwell on.” Elysia smiled the kind of smile that only involves one’s mouth instead of their entire face. It was a smile that would be correctly seen as a lie by anyone who bothered to look at the discomfort in her eyes. A mask of a smile.

Hedera didn’t believe her for a second, but nodded. “Okay then. We should probably get some rest.”  
Hedera crawled into her sleeping bag and used her pack as a pillow.

Elysia thought it strange to sleep in the clothes she had spent the day in, but beggars could not be choosers. She had brought sleep clothes but couldn’t be bothered to try and remember the location of the restrooms, and she was far too shy to change in the same room as these two near-strangers.

She took the liberty of turning off the light before laying down in her sleeping bag.

A childhood friend of hers had taught her that to fall asleep when stressed or anxious, the solution was to blink until your eyelids were literally tired. Physically too tired to continue the act of blinking.

Elysia did this as she had so many nights before, until she drifted into slumber.


	8. Sometimes Mornings Just Be Like That

Karissa was the first of the three half-bloods to wake in the morning. She sat up and stretched. Her mane of hair a disaster from restless sleep.

The magic Valentina had done on Karissa did wonders. Despite her tossing and turning her makeup remained impeccable.  
Karissa had been too exhausted to change the night before, but now she had to get out of these frumpy clothes.

Modesty wasn’t a word in Karissa’s vocabulary. She selected a change of clothes from her pack and started to undress.

Elysia had forgotten for a moment that she was not alone in the Harmonia cabin back at camp. This made hearing motion in the room with her especially startling, and roused her awake quite quickly. Elysia had her eyes settled on the source of the noise for some time, not in any way processing what it was she was looking at. Her mind had been too busy whirring back to life and trying to hold onto the fading remnants of her dream for her to be very aware of her surroundings.

She remembered the situation. She was lying on the floor in a gray sleeping bag beneath the window. She was on a quest to clear the name of the Aphrodite daughter nonchalantly stripping in front of her.  
Wait, the what?

The warm mental blur of sleep pulled away from Elysia in an instant as she bolted into a sitting position.

“Karissa! Put the bedsheet on top of yourself before you change. That is the etiquette here!” Elysia said with her gaze rapidly flitting between Karissa’s breasts and the floor.

Elysia hugged her knees and hid the lower half of her face behind her ankle-length skirt.  
“Oh. You’re awake.” Karissa said. “Calm down those B-cups princess, I’m almost finished.”  
Karissa dressed herself and sat on the bed. “It’s okay, you can look now.”  
Elysia lifted her face back into view. Her cheeks we beet red. She eyed Karissa up and down, as if to make sure everything had been put back properly. “How did you get it in your head to bare yourself for all to see like that?” Elysia had been giving Karissa some benefit of the doubt regarding the camp rumors about her- the ones that predated the thefts.

Elysia picked up her satin bag and stood to pull the sheet from the room’s only bed.  
Karissa shrugged. “I dunno. No one in the Aphrodite cabin gives a sh-“ she paused. “Uh. No one cares.” Karissa censored herself.  
Hedera finally stirred. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Her smeared black makeup made her look like a cartoon burglar, or a raccoon.  
“Morning.” Hedera yawned.  
“Good morning.” Elysia said without thinking before turning to whom she was speaking to. Elysia looked at Hedera and pursed her lips to stifle a giggle. ‘That’s what she gets for wearing so much dark makeup on a quest’, Elysia thought to herself.

Elysia planned to comment on it politely. “Hedera, I am afraid you’ve got a bit of-“

“Of what?” Hedera asked.

Someone knocked on the door.

Karissa answered the door as she ran a brush through her hair.

Elysia gently tapped a finger against one of her own lower eyelids as a silent hint to Hedera. Elysia hoped to be quiet so not to speak over whoever was speaking to Karissa.

Hedera’s eyes widened and she fished for a compact from her pack.

Sister Mary Genesius stood at the door. The wide-eyed bespectacled old woman looked up at Karissa with a mopey expression. “Reverend Mother Mary Denis invites you to breakfast, followed by lauds.” The small white haired nun announced.

“So very kind of the Reverend Mother to welcome us like this.” Elysia said a bit louder than her normal speaking voice.

Karissa picked up on Elysia’s tone. “Yes, it is.” Karissa nodded in agreement.

Karissa turned to the nun and flashed one of her dazzling smiles. “Just give us a little time to get ready, sister.”

Sister Mary Genesius nodded with a sniffle, and made her way down the hall.

Elysia walked past Karissa to quickly close the door before turning to Hedera. “We need to change. Post-haste. For breakfast to be so formal as to send someone out to invite us is not the norm.” Elysia was breathing quickly. “The Reverend Mother must have something to say.” She said as she walked back to the center of the room and began to pace the floor.  
Hedera was furiously wiping the black makeup from her face. “Should I take my piercings out?” She asked Elysia.  
Karissa sat on the bed with a sigh. “What good would that do?”  
Elysia ignored Karissa’s retort. “That may be for the best, for the time being.” She addressed Hedera. Elysia finally lifted the bedsheet she’d grabbed earlier atop her head so that she looked like a Halloween ghost. The sunlight shining through the window behind her made her dark silhouette visible through the white cotton as she dropped her skirt and shuffled through her satin holding bag for a suitable outfit.  
Hedera went to work removing her piercings. She tucked the jewelry away in her pack.  
Hedera noticed Elysia’s silhouette. Beneath all the baggy clothing and frills, Elysia had quite the figure…  
Hedera tore her eyes away. “Should I change under a sheet too?”  
“Karissa, remind me whether there’s a second she may use?” Elysia did not exactly move gracefully underneath the sheet.  
“There’s not another.” Karissa replied.

“It’s okay.” Hedera spoke. “I can wait for her to finish.”  
She thrashed her arms forward whenever the sheet got in the way of her hands dressing her properly, trying to keep the sheet on top of her when her elbows went into the air to remove her shirt. She even hopped on one leg for a bit. Elysia huffed with frustration at the time constraint and gave herself permission to move a bit more slowly. She raised a new pair up her legs with grace, took her time to button her top and adjust the new skirt.

Elysia pulled the sheet off to reveal a long brown skirt that hugged her legs marginally tighter than her last. She wore a white button-up blouse that looked like something a French noblemen may wear beneath his elaborate coat. It had almost unnoticeably small frills around the buttons, but a business-like collar.  
She slipped on her shoes at the same time as adjusting the bun holding up her hair.

Changing under the sheet wasn’t easy for Hedera. She was glad for a little privacy, though this wasn’t ideal. When she dropped the sheet she had dressed simply in black jeans and a band shirt.  
Hedera was quick to pull her hair back into two buns.  
“I’m ready.”  
Elysia turned to look at Hedera, partly to ensure she didn’t look ready to attend a death metal concert. The outfit could be more appropriate for breakfast at a convent, she thought, but she was thankful it wasn’t anything more elaborate.

“Good.” Elysia exaggerated. She made the quick comment before sliding her crucifix beneath the neck of her blouse.

“Are we prepared as we ought to be, ladies?” Elysia said breathless from the rush to dress.  
Karissa nodded. “I would say so.”  
“Yup.” Hedera agreed. She could feel her anxiety eating at her again. The fear that there was some social rule everyone knew about but her, and that the moment she sat for breakfast she was going to break it and humiliate herself. Hedera tried to push it away, but the feeling only rose. Her breakfast partners being literal nuns was definitely not helping.  
“Wonderful.” Elysia said almost sarcastically. She was clearly unenthused with the time it had taken them. Elysia pursed her lips and looked herself up and down to double check that she looked perfectly modest and presentable. She opened the door and allowed it to fall onto the bedroom’s inner wall to prop it open for the other two girls.

The dining hall had several cheap wooden tables put side to side with one another to create a longer table, with all the nuns sitting on one side. Reverend Mother Mary Denis sat at the center. The nuns ate quite simple meals, but abstaining from enjoying their meals was not a vow anyone in the convent had taken. The table had a wide array of fruits, sisters sat eating bowls of oatmeal and slices of toast with jam. Sister Mary Bibliana had the strangest breakfast by far- three wild berry flavored pop-tarts.

“A blessed morning to you all.” Elysia said as she took her seat not far from Mother Mary Denis.  
“Good morning.” Karissa smiled at Sister Mary Bibliana. “Mother Denis wanted to see us?”  
Hedera was glad that Karissa was the one doing the talking. She kept her mouth shut as her eyes wandered to the various plates around the room.

Hedera’s stomach rumbled.  
Mother Mary Denis slowly stood from the table. The room rung with the sound of forks and spoons being dropped onto plates as the sisters all stopped eating to pay better attention to whatever the Mother Reverend may have to say. The wimple she wore on her head seemed even taller than the day before.

Elysia looked around the room uneasily. The other two half-bloods were still unseated.

Mother Mary Denis stood there with her mouth hanging slack and her beady eyes scanning the room.

“Karissa, is it?” the Reverend Mother said in a voice breathy and weak.

“Let us speak together in the kitchen.” She continued without waiting for a reply. She had yet to set her eyes on Karissa at all. Elysia wondered if the Reverend Mother was even sure which of the two women was Karissa.

Elysia gave her two traveling companions a look of concern and confusion.  
Mother Mary Denis walked slowly out from behind the long table. Sister Mary Genesius was an older woman as well, but her movements were spritely and light-footed compared to the creaking bones of the Reverend Mother.

She walked at a slug’s pace, moving like a marionette controlled by an amateurish puppeteer. The stiff black habit she wore hung off her limbs more like a dramatic cloak than religious garb.  
Mother Mary Denis walked by many bewildered nuns before making her way to the kitchen door far across from the table. Everyone up until now had been stunned to silence.

By the time Elysia thought to say something, Mother Denis was already in the kitchen.

“Just you? She wants to only speak to you?” Elysia said to Karissa with a look far more stunned than upset.  
Karissa looked panicked. “Um…”  
Karissa looked to the other members of her team for guidance.

“Just go, it’ll be alright.” Hedera encouraged her.

Karissa swallowed and nodded. Karissa followed the Reverend Mother.  
Once the door was shut behind them Karissa turned to the older woman with a tense smile. She wasn’t sure why, but she was a bit afraid to be alone with the old woman.  
Mother Mary Denis walked up to the kitchen sink. The kitchen was lovely- the walls looked almost to be made of baked clay. There was a wooden pantry and countertops along every wall. During the day, the room was lit only by the large window just above the sink. It was this window that Mother Denis looked out of before beginning to speak.

“You’re a young woman with potential, you know.” She said to Karissa. Her voice had become gruff- with every word she spoke one could hear the gunk in her lungs being cleared out. The weak squeak of a voice she had outside in the lunch hall must have been because she was trying to be heard by the entire hall and exasperated herself.

Mother Mary Denis clutched the top of her cane tightly.  
Karissa clasped her hands together nervously. “What kind of potential?” She asked.  
Mother Mary Denis turned around to face Karissa. With her slight hunch and heavy religious habit, the act looked like a pack mule trying to walk in a circle while carrying too much weight. “This world is filled with many awful things, child. The worst of them come forth from the hearts of men. Lies, murders, hunger and pain and battle.” Mother Mary Denis closed her eyes and shook her head.

She opened her mouth wide to continue speaking. Her tongue had aged into so pale a pink that it looked nearly white. “I am mother to many and I have the duty to protect them.”

She raised a bony finger covered in liver spots from beneath the long sleeve of her habit and pointed it at Karissa. “A girl like yourself. You’re more like me than Elysia is, that’s quite certain.”

Karissa shook her head. “I don’t understand…”

Karissa couldn’t possibly fathom that she could be anything like this old woman. A nun was about as opposite to Karissa as you could get.  
Mother Mary Denis let out a small laugh that turned into a small cough. “You will, sweetheart. I promise you that. We’re all on missions in life- and yours is not unlike mine.” She heaved her body forward slowly as she approached Karissa to put a hand on her shoulder.  
“We can do even better work together.” Mother Denis said like it was her and Karissa’s precious little secret.

Karissa flinched when the old woman touched her. Which was embarrassing, because it gave away how frightening she found the old crone.

“What do you mean?” Karissa asked.

Back in the lunch hall, the young Sister Mary Bibliana flashed a smile at Hedera and patted the seat beside herself.

Hedera took the seat next to Sister Bibliana and struggled to meet her eyes. “Thank you.”  
Sister Mary Bibliana bit into her Wildberry pop tarts. “Did you know it took me a month to convince the Reverend Mother to let me get these for our pantry?” Sister Bibliana said immediately after swallowing. “Fascinating.” Elysia said in a bland unenthused tone. She was far too busy thinking about what was going on in the kitchen.

Noticing Elysia’s lack of interest, Sister Bibliana turned to face Hedera. “She said that these pastries remind her of a lover who scorned her years ago. Before she took her vows. Isn’t that wild? Picturing her with a boyfriend! And to have a breakup ruin something as specific and silly as pop-tarts! ” Sister Bibliana giggled until she snorted.

“Gossip about the Reverend Mother, sister Bibliana?” Sister Genesius said with a sad and disappointed tone, upset to see this kind of conduct.

Sister Bibliana’s smile fell and she went back to eating.

Hedera looked down at the table. She couldn’t help but feel all eyes were on her, though rationally she knew they weren’t.

“So,” Hedera tried to change the subject. “How long have you been serving here?” She asked Sister Bibliana.

Elysia seemed to be intensely focused on the wall behind her and the other diners. She turned around to face it occasionally as if expecting something to be there. Each time she’d see nothing out of the ordinary, shrug, and return to stressing about why Mother Denis would want to speak to Karissa and not to her.

Sister Bibliana got her smile back. “Just under five years! Only a month after Mother Denis arrived and was ordained Reverend Mother.” Sister Bibliana sounded almost as if she was bragging. She put a finger to her lip. “And oh yeah…Just a week before Elysia showed up! Right Lissy?” Bibliana nudged Elysia who did not reply.

Hedera looked to Elysia. “Wow, you were here a long time, then.” She felt silly for stating the obvious, but she wanted desperately to not fall into an awkward silence.  
Mother Mary Denis opened her mouth to speak to Karissa again- but then something else caught her attention. Like a sound that only she could hear.

“Someone is here.” She said in a voice that sounded like a far younger woman.

The wall behind the breakfast table exploded.

Fire flooded the hall. The structure of the building began to fail. Stone blocks flew past like bullets crushing anything in their path before slamming into the opposite wall.

When the blast hit, Hedera was quick. She held her hands up in front of her, a blue light glowing from them.

Elysia heard the blast for only a single second before it all blurred into a loud painful ringing that pulsed through her skull. She was tossed to the opposite wall like a weightless ragdoll, slamming her spine into the solid stone at a speed that she did not know her body could move at. She fell from the wall and crashed belly down onto the marble floor.

She wasn’t able to think in words. Too much was happening, too much was hurting.

The large wooden beams holding up the roof began to collapse to the ground, injuring anyone unfortunate enough to be running by beneath. A hot cloud of thick debris kept anything from being seen. The floor beneath Elysia was wet with something warm. It burned to breathe. Elysia could see silhouettes panicking people in the cloud of dust- but what scared her was how few of them there were. How many people who were at the table were now lying limp on the floor?

How many had already died from the initial explosion?

Three words. The first clear thought that Elysia managed to have since the blast.

’Where is Hedera?’

She tried to push her hands against the floor to prop herself up. She felt like her lungs had been filled to the brim with razors and woodchips. Elysia let out a wet whine of a scream, but couldn’t hear her own voice over the ringing in her ears.

Mother Mary Denis ran out of the kitchen and into the disaster zone- suddenly seeming much more spry and agile.

When Karissa came to, she could taste blood in her mouth. She tried to sit up, and cried out in pain.

She looked down at her leg for an explanation, and she got one. She’d never seen her lower leg bend in that direction before.

Karissa cried out as loud as she could for her teammates. “Hedera! Elysia!”.

Hedera was still standing. Completely unharmed. Her whole body was surrounded by a protective barrier of blue magic. She didn’t know she could do that…

Elysia cried out again, and this time Hedera heard her. “Elysia! Where are you?!” Hedera began to run through the piles of wood, stone, and roof shingles to try and find Elysia.

When she did, she grabbed Elysia by her shoulders and helped her up. “Elysia!” Hedera said weakly. “We have to find Karissa!”  
Elysia clung close to Hedera and leaned upon her heavily. That grinding stabbing pain shot through Elysia’s lungs again, but she didn’t have the luxury of focusing on that right now.  
“What happened?” Elysia breathed the words out more than she spoke them. She was hyperventilating in air that she wasn’t even sure was safe to breathe.  
The cloud of dust and debris was beginning to fade. Roughly half of the large dining hall had collapsed into rubble. Six or seven men stood guard where the wall had been only minutes ago.

They were dressed identically to ancient Greek foot soldiers. The iconic breast plates, shin guards and tall-crested warrior helmet were all present. They were armed with shields, spears and blades- making the weaponry equally traditional.

Only when the dust cleared further could they see the warriors in better detail. While the men’s armor was modeled to look identical to those of the ancient Greeks, all areas that would have shown exposed skin millennia ago now had skin-tight black Kevlar. The breast plate, helmet and shin guards were made of red thermoplastic ceramic composites instead of bronze.

The one thing that did appear to be bronze were the masks each man wore beneath his helmet. Each mask was identical, all sculpted to depict the same young man’s face. It looked as though these men had simply torn the faces off some ancient Greek bronze statues and put them on. The sight was unsettling.

Each of their spears was celestial bronze and doubled as a taser. Each traditional Greek shortsword had a pistol holstered just beside it on the warrior’s belts.  
Standing at the center of this regiment were what looked like two individuals roughly the same age as Elysia and Hedera. A young woman with voluminous wavy black hair who looked as if she hadn’t slept in weeks, and a young man with an orange Mohawk and a compact gas mask covering the lower half of his face.

The young man yelled through his gas mask’s thick filter:

“Retrieve the apple and bring it back here. Kill all witnesses.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus points to anyone who can spot the Magnus Chase joke.


	9. I Hate It When Edgelords Wear Controversial Opinions On T-Shirts

The young woman with the long black hair locked eyes on Elyia and Hedera. She smiled and waved. She wore a long, dark purple sleeveless dress and a manic expression. Her hair was tangled into knots, and her arms and neck were absolutely covered in tattoos of monsters making frightening faces. 

Elysia let go of Hedera and scrambled to reach the kitchen door as quickly as she could. Elysia and Hedera entered the kitchen to get Karissa. 

“Algea, handle this.” Mother Denis screamed out. 

“if I must, Mother.” Replied Sister Mary Genesius, whose nun habit began to shrink and darken in color until it was tight to her body. Her glasses sunk into her face to become large black eyes, feathers sprouting from the black nun cloak that had now become her skin. She was now a wingless humanoid covered completely in black iridescent feathers, leaking a stream black fog from its eyes like tears. 

“We’ve got to get our shit and get out of here.” Hedera hoisted up one of Karissa’s arms. “Elysia, help me get Karissa.”

Elysia’s eyes were wide with horror. Her pupils were as small as pin pricks. She stared at Karissa’s leg and did not register what Hedera was saying- Elysia had never seen someone this injured in person before. Elysia had never been in combat before.

She stared at the grotesque bend of Karissa’s leg and pondered silently about whether or not the nuns she had been sitting beside were dead.

Inhuman screeching could be heard in the dining hall beyond the kitchen door. 

Someone opened the kitchen door. It was the woman who had smiled and waved at them earlier- the woman who looked ready to drop from exhaustion.

The woman who appeared to be one of the two people ordering the soldiers around. 

“I found them.” She yelled back into the hall.

“Hurry-“ Hedera hissed. “Help me carry her- we have to get out of here. Once we get Karissa outside I’ll come back for our supplies. But we need to hurry before the fire spreads. Elysia- are you listening?” 

Karissa held her other arm up to Elysia. “Any day now would be lovely.”

Karissa’s voice jostled Elysia's mind back to the present.

Elysia looked around and reassessed her surroundings. She took Karissa's other arm and lifted her to her feet- though Karissa’s weight made Elysia's ribs sting even more than before.

Elysia used her other hand to reach for her rosary. She grabbed it tightly and a golden aura shot forth from it briefly illuminating the entire building.

The sounds of sobbing avine creatures and metal clanging died down slightly.

The long haired tattooed woman standing between them and the kitchen's exit looked at Elysia with wonder. 

“That's a pretty toy you've got.” She said, and she reached for Elysia.

“Why don't you just take a nap and let me take that off your hands?” She said with a sadistic smile. 

The effect Elysia had unleashed onto the battlefield had made the fighting far less intense, and filled all three of them with an inner peace that almost counter-acted the shock and pain of all that was happening around them.

All three girls felt lulled, comforted- almost drugged. Elysia's eyelids felt heavy as her vision distorted.

“No..” Elysia murmured as she tried to push past the woman with Karissa in tow.

“Shh. Don't fret darlings, I'm here. Just go to sleep.” The hypnotic woman said gently as she reached for Elysia and Hedera with each hand. She was doing something to them, using some power to tire them.

Hedera shook her head, “No, guys, snap out of it…” she said, though it was clear the woman’s words were affecting her too.

Karissa closed her eyes. The thought of sleep sounded so nice with the amount of pain she was in. Hedera’s words of protest sounded miles away.

The woman gripped Elysia's hair and pulled her closer. She gripped the necklace by its chain and began to tug. “Hush now, just let it carry you away. You'll be safe in the slumber.”

Elysia struggled in a panic, but her limbs felt progressively heavier the longer she did so.  
“Elysia no!” Hedera protested. She shook Elysia’s arm to try and snap her out of it. 

Hedera knew she had to do something. She could feel the woman’s influence flowing through her, the overwhelming temptation to sleep. She had to act fast. 

Hedera summoned forth her magic, the blue glow in her hands growing hot. Hedera let it pool into a ball in her palm before throwing it at their attacker.  
The dark haired assailant slammed into the kitchen wall and caused several shoddily made shelves to crash into the floor. She plopped against the pile of pots and pans that’d formed below her with a shuffling clank.  
“Ow.” She finally commented after sitting in the mess for a few seconds. The fabric on her stomach was slightly burned. 

Elysia crawled back toward Hedera in a panicked scramble of kicking and grabbing. Half of her hair bun had been pulled apart by the woman’s grip, leaving it to hang over half her face. Elysia stayed sat upon the floor and hid behind Hedera.

“Luther!” The tattooed woman bellowed out so that those battling outside in the dining hall could hear her from the kitchen.

“What?” A young male voice bellowed back through the sounds of combat. He sounded annoyed.

“We have a scenario thirty seven.” She yelled out while bringing herself back up to her feet. 

“Now…” The woman’s sentence was interrupted by her letting out a slow yawn. She took the opportunity to pull her hair out of her face. “Now you fucked up.”

She held her hand up to Hedera and smiled gently. 

“Go the fuck to sleep.”

The woman’s appearance began to distort. Her hair lengthened and became more wiry and rigid, more like spines than hair. Her teeth sharpened and jutted forward from her mouth with new length, like claws from a cat’s paw. The torso of her dress tore open to expose two more pairs of arms both longer than the original pair. The walls of the room began to melt. Not the way a real room made of stone and wood would melt- but the way a painting of a room would melt.

Karissa and Elysia saw none of this. All they saw was Hedera and the still-perfectly-human tattooed woman sitting on the floor, facing each other with their eyes closed. 

A thick red vine shot into the kitchen and wrapped around Karissa’s good leg before tugging her out of the kitchen and into the battle in the dining room, wriggling and writhing with intense strength. Elysia yelped at the sight of it. Just outside the kitchen door Karissa could see the young man with the mohawk and the gas mask- evidently named Luther- beckoning the vine to bring Karissa closer, as though it were his pet dog and she its new toy.  
Karissa let out a shriek as she was pulled away. Pain seared through her leg as she was dragged across the rough ground. She fumbled for the double bronze rings on her hands. 

The rings became daggers, and the weight of the weapon in her hand was a grounding comfort. 

Karissa began to furiously saw at the vine that had wrapped around her ankle. 

Hedera’s mouth hung open. She tried to scream, but no words came out. The woman had spent all that time trying to get her to fall asleep, and Hedera had a sneaking suspicion that she had just succeeded. Hedera and her mysterious attacker were now sharing a dream.  
Elysia sat hugging her knees with her back to the kitchen’s far wall. All she could feel was the stabbing pain in her ribs, the bruises forming along her spine and the warm tears running down her cheeks. She was now alone in the kitchen, save for Hedera and the tattooed woman, who were both unconscious. Elysia hugged herself tighter. Hung her head lower. She peered over her knees out at the ongoing combat just outside the kitchen door. The creature that Sister Mary Genesius had transformed into was screaming out in agony as she fought back the invading soldiers. 

Back out in the dining hall, Luther moved his body into a battle-ready crouch, his boots planted firmly against different sections of the shattered tile. The large vine writhed and spasmed as Karissa tried to cut through it- those nearby could almost hear the plant squeak in protest.  
“Well would you look at that…You’re a pretty one.” He commented as Karissa was dragged closer toward him. “You’ll make real great compost.” He quipped with a macabre chuckle. Luther lifted his other hand and did the ‘move in’ motion used by SWAT teams. Upon him doing so five or six faster, thinner vines shot toward Karissa’s wrists and attempted to hold them still. 

Sister Mary Genesius- or the monstrous thing that had been using that identity as a cover- was being assaulted in frenzy by three soldiers from the invasion force. At times she appeared to be the massive humanoid bird creature she’d turned into originally. An owl-like face with a grey beak and unnervingly huge black eyes that shone like wet marbles and took up most of her face. Grabbing the soldiers with her corvid fingers and trying to puncture their armor with her black onyx talons. Not a human feature to be seen.

Similar to those optical illusion drawings that show a different person depending on how you look at them, Sister Mary Genesius just as easily appeared to be a tall slender young woman in a huge black-feather cloak. Her rage-filled bird screeches could just as easily be heard as the pained screams of a weeping woman. Her pale skin discolored by deep purple bruises. Thick mascara running down her cheeks as she sobbed uncontrollably from two icy blue eyes, one of which had become swollen and purple from injury. 

Her form shifted erratically, like a person trapped in a black bed sheet kicking and punching at it from inside. She switched between the two forms too quickly and unpredictably to keep track of, sometimes seeming to hold both forms at once. One of the soldiers finally managed to stab into her, and a glowing gold liquid dripped onto the blade of his spear.

Mother Mary Denis had fled down the hall toward the cathedral, with the remaining soldiers going after her. 

The tile floor beneath Luther began to shake as an oak tree suddenly erupted out of the ground beneath him. He grabbed onto one of its branches and allowed the rapidly growing structure to carry him closer and closer to the room’s quickly collapsing ceiling. The vines began to pull Karissa upward to follow him.  
“When you boys are done with her, we’ve apparently got some half-bloods to take back to Egan.” Luther yelled out to the soldiers stabbing Sister Genesius.

Karissa now dangled upside down a few feet above the tile floor, with Luther situated in the brand new oak tree above her.

Elysia watched from the kitchen as Karissa entered her increasingly perilous situation. She looked to Hedera, who had apparently fallen into a trance.  
“No…This isn’t right. Snap out of it!” Elysia screamed aloud. She slowly lifted herself to her feet using the kitchen counter to lean on. “This isn’t right.” She said to herself, quietly this time. 

Standing hunched over, she reached behind her neck with both hands to remove her rosary.

Karissa struggled against the vines, her daggers falling from her hands and clattering to the ground. 

Being magical, Karissa knew the daggers would return to rings on her fingers sooner or later. But for now she was completely defenseless.  
“Let me go!” Karissa bellowed out in rage. She poured every ounce of her charm speak into her ballistic words.

Inside Hedera’s dream, she was trying to keep it together. 

“You and I are having a slumber party!” The tattooed woman yelled out as she approached Hedera and grabbed her by her shoulders. 

The kitchen counters appeared to sprout tall wooden legs with sharpened points. The furniture and appliances dug their newfound legs into the floor below to yank themselves free from the walls and floors. The animalistic kitchen furnishings approached Hedera with spider-like movements, growling intimidatingly. The woman lowered her head to Hedera’s ear and whispered gently.

“The world’s so scary, isn’t it? Don’t you just want to stay with me?” She caressed her pale fingertips down Hedera’s cheek. The touch sank Hedera deeper into the woman’s mystical thrall. 

The kitchen and the furniture monsters all began to fade away until Hedera and the mysterious woman were standing in an infinite black void together.

The woman stood behind Hedera and touched her head and shoulders with gentle massage-like motions. 

“Daddy sent you away for being a freak. He’s horrified of you, did you know that?”  
Wide eyed Hedera shook her head. “N-no my dad- he loves me.” 

Hedera’s father appeared in the darkness. He laid upon his back crawling away from Hedera with a look of terror on his face.

“He didn’t know what he was creating. He’s only nice to you because he knows what you’re capable of. He couldn’t wait to get rid of you.” Hedera’s father was absorbed into the clouds of the abyss again.  
Her father was a kind and loving man, and she’d never doubted how much he cared for her. Until now. Amelia’s words sunk in like a poison.

“And your friends?” The woman said. Elysia and Karissa emerged from the shifting darkness. “They think you’re disgusting.They brought you because you might be useful.”

Elysia and Karissa’s images kept their backs turned on Hedera. The longer one looked into the infinite black abyss, the more it appeared to move and writhe like there was something huge existing just beyond Hedera’s line of sight. A creeping feeling of dread as though someone were watching them both.

“Has either of them said more than two words to you? You’re an afterthought.” The woman taunted. 

The woman walked out in front of Hedera and waved her hand at the images of Elysia and Karissa.

“Makes you wonder who the real monsters are, right?”

The Elysia and Karissa floating in the darkness began to mutate. The image of Elysia grew emaciated and anorexic as her limbs stretched and her eyes blackened, with black veins visible through her paper-thin skin. Elysia’s elbows, knees and ankles became sharp as knives as her eyes sunk into her head and her skin began to turn gray and sag off her frame. The image of Karissa became so muscular that her flesh tightened against her skin. The image of Karissa began to laugh uncontrollably as her complexion reddened and she bulked into a groaning pig-like monstrosity.

“My name’s Amelia. Daughter of Phobetor. God of nightmares. And I’m your new best friend.” She smiled at Hedera warmly, sincerely, as one half of her face drooped downward like it was made of goo.  
“Please stop this…” Hedera’s hands began to glow a faint blue. She knew she had to fight back, but her limbs felt so heavy.  
“They don’t give two shits about you. But here with me? You’ll be loved. You’ll be understood, cared for. I can protect you. Keep you safe from cruel judgmental people, safe from all the pain of the truth outside.”

“You’re wrong!” Hedera managed to raise her voice as she threw another shot at Amelia. 

Outside the world of illusion, the real Elysia stood at the doorway between the kitchen and the dining hall. The kitchen was still in-tact, with cupboards and pantries and countertops all remaining where they ought to be- with Hedera and Amelia both passed out on the ground. 

Elysia looked down at the rosary in her hands. She rarely had the opportunity to examine it like this, as she removed it so rarely. The wooden beads warped into a jewel encrusted gold band before her eyes. The crucifix faded away, as the necklace revealed its true form. Each end of the necklace’s golden band took the shape of a snake’s head. The mouths of the snakes would open to lock into one another and act as the clasp, a serpentine kiss that held the necklace on tightly. The necklace now had a jewel amulet instead of a cross, letting off a warm golden glow.

Elysia turned to look at Hedera and quietly hoped that she was okay. Elysia was afraid to disturb either of the two sleeping women out of fear that waking them from magical sleep would do some kind of permanent mental damage.

Elysia stepped out of the kitchen and into the chaos of the dining hall with one hand pressed against her pained ribs. Her other hand held the necklace aloft, advertising it to all those present.

“Listen babe, release isn’t really on the table for you right now. Surrender is probably your best bet if I’m being honest.” Luther explained to Karissa with a voice that sounded like a store employee apologizing to a customer for not having the product they were looking for. 

“Pardon me. Is this what you came for?” Elysia bellowed out with all the volume she could manage. 

Luther momentarily took his attention off Karissa to look at what Elysia had in her hand.

“No, but it’s a damn good bonus.” He announced.The vines holding Karissa released her and shot toward Elysia.

Elysia did nothing to try and evade the assault. One vine gripped her wrist and the other wrestled the necklace from her hand to bring back to Luther.

Karissa silently prayed to Ares under her breath when she landed back on the ground and grabbed her daggers. After all, he listened more than her mother.

Inside Hedera’s dream, her ball of mystical power looked like a comet; huge with a glistening tail behind it. The blast oozed out of her hands and traveled forward inches at a time like a serpent. Amelia was standing knock-kneed with her jaw hanging slack as Hedera’s billowing pillar of energy slithered slowly toward her, sizzling and popping and scorching everything it touched to become dry and dead. Amelia just stood and watched Hedera’s attack approach.

“This is a gift to celebrate the love and support we’re going to give each other, right?” Amelia said cheerily as the oncoming ball of plasma dried out the film of moisture on the surface of her eyes..

“No one has ever loved me enough to get me a gift before. It’s beautiful. Thank you so much.” Amelia said gently as her eyes grew bloodshot from the strain of staring at the glowing display unblinkingly. 

“I’m so glad we’re friends.” Amelia giggled like a child who had found a butterfly, and raised a hand to touch the huge blue ball of light. Her flesh began to blacken and crack before falling away from her. “Wait-“ Amelia screamed out and tried to tug her hand free, only for her desperate frantic yanking to jostle her arm into disintegrating as the plasma overtook her. The sleeve of her dress shrank from the heat before tearing and burning away entirely.

“Wait, stop- it’s hurting me!” Amelia shrieked out with a primal fear in her voice. “You’re hurting me stop it’s hurting me!” She shrieked again, flailing like a child with her hair caught in a wood chipper. 

The infinite black abyss they were both trapped in began to glitch and falter, showing brief glimpses of the real world outside of the dreamscape. It flickered like static on a satellite TV with poor signal- a sign that none of this was real, contrasting with the all-too-real seeming horror show Hedera was witnessing in front of her. 

Something invisible seemed to be holding Hedera still- holding her silent. Someone wanted her to have to watch this.  
Hedera knew that this was all just an illusion to disturb and frighten her, but Amelia was one hell of an actress.

Amelia’s bleeding face was finally consumed by the energy, silencing her screams. Hedera’s magic faded away leaving behind only a melted corpse and a sickly sweet aroma.

“You didn’t do anything to help me.” Amelia said from behind Hedera, completely unharmed and clearly offended. 

The last blast Hedera had fired had caused the illusion to hiccup, it had offered her a brief glimpse of the real world. Could a big enough attack manage to break through?

Amelia’s eyes seemed to open a bit further than should have been physically possible, as she stared at Hedera.

The creature eating in front of Hedera had thin, two-foot-long feet and yellowing broken fingernails. It was so thin that the outline of every bone could be viewed clearly. Despite that, the creature’s stomach was extremely bloated to the point of its gut being almost perfectly round.

Worst of all: it had Elysia’s face.

The creature stopped eating long enough to look up at Hedera.

“You’re a bad person.” Amelia’s voice morphed halfway through the sentence into an inhumanly deep one, so close that Hedera could feel how wet and warm the speaker’s breath was. 

When Hedera turned, the tall zombie-like Elysia creature was the one with its lips to her ear.  
Hedera was way too terrified to use her magic again after Amelia had twisted the attack into a gory guilt-trip. With a trembling hand she felt the bracelet on her wrist turn into her sword. Hedera managed to bring herself to her feet.  
“You’re not real.” Hedera muttered to herself.  
Hedera swung her sword, driving the side of her blade into the creature’s neck.  
Amelia leaped backward as the starving zombie-like creature screeched out in agony. The creature began to shrink. The length of its various limbs began to return to normal, its skin returning to a pale complexion with undertones of rosy pink. Sagging skin pulled back to normality and sunken black eyes became a pretty blue-green.

Kneeling before Hedera, bleeding out of a huge gash in her neck was what appeared to be a perfectly normal Elysia. The disturbingly convincing illusion looked up at Hedera in childlike fear.

The orange camp shirt was soaked red by the now perfectly human blood leaking out from the wound. The girl kneeling at Hedera’s feet opened her mouth and tried to speak, but all that came out were the futile heaves of a wounded woman trying and failing to breathe.  
Hedera choked back a sob as she staggered back. “No- stop this-“ 

The simulacrum of Elysia collapsed onto the floor with a warm thud.  
Amelia strolled up to the figure lying dead belly down on the floor and kicked her so that she laid belly up, the corpses' eyes now glassy and missing the luster they’d had only seconds ago.

“Me? You're the one that did it, stupid.” Amelia corrected.

Amelia began to laugh. Not an evil monstrous sounding laugh- but a dorky laugh filled with snorting and squeaky giggles.

Amelia’s laughter brought Hedera back to the present. She had to take her down if there was any chance of any of them getting out of there alive.  
Hedera knew she couldn’t give up. She had to finish this quest. Hedera gripped her sword tightly as she ran towards Amelia, ready to swing.

“This has got to be a fake.” Luther said back out in reality, tossing the necklace’s weight around in his hands as though that would give him some indication of the artefact’s validity. 

Several of the soldiers Amelia and Luther had brought with them could be heard opening fire somewhere down the hall toward the cathedral.

“I assure you it is the genuine article.” Elysia said with some mix between an angry and professional tone of voice. 

Luther kept his eyes on the necklace as he used his free hand to silently gesture orders to the soldiers that had remained in the dining hall. Two of the soldiers took a break from stabbing Sister Mary Genesius into submission and instead threatened Elysia- with one spear and one firearm pointed at her, respectively. 

Luther laughed through the thick filter of his mask. “The necklace of Harmonia. Made by Hephaestus and cursed by Eris. There’s no way in hell you’d live more than three days with this on. You’d get Final Destinationed’ into mincemeat by the time you figured out what it was.” He commented with a dark humor. 

Elysia stared at the floor with a restrained anger in her eyes. She made a point of not replying.

“How’d you do it?” Luther asked plainly, dangling one of his feet down from the tree branch he stood upon. 

“How’d you remove the curse?” He almost yelled.  
Luther gestured heavily with his hands as he spoke, waving them around and scratching himself often. “We can always just kill you, if you aren’t going to make yourself useful with information. We don’t exactly have a shortage of halfbl-“

Luther turned to face Karissa, spotting her readying herself to strike. He narrowed his eyes at her and held his hands out at either side. He gestured a flat open hand in her general direction. “Come on. What the hell.” He said to Karissa, asking her to explain why she was inconveniencing him. 

“Don’t…Just, don’t be like that.” He said to Karissa as a thick segmented stalk bust through the tile floor and grew until it was within his reach. Out of the stock’s side grew a long thorn like one would find on a rose, but roughly eight inches in length and one inch in thickness. Luther grabbed the thorn by its base and broke it free- now holding it as though it were a knife. He held the thorn in his right hand, and Elysia’s necklace in his left.

Elysia kept her mouth shut tightly and her hands clasped together near her side. Despite the pain in her ribs and a gun pointed at her head, she stood straight as a pole- save for her solemnly bowed head.

“You pretty ladies aren’t here working for Eris, are you? You’re just in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Luther offered as he strolled toward Karissa.  
Karissa nodded. “We have no idea what’s happening right now, we’re on a quest from camp half blood.” Karissa pleaded, speaking quickly. She poured every ounce of charm speak she had into her words. “Please just let us go.” 

Karissa knew it was a long shot, but it was a shot nonetheless. 

Luther blinked several times in quick succession. He looked as though he were silently wondering whether he left the stove on. His thousand-yard stare faded slowly as he looked toward Karissa, and then Elysia.

“I mean. We have a lot of half-bloods already, and if you ladies aren’t going to get between us and what we came for then I don’t really see the harm.” Luther shrugged. 

Karissa smiled. The charm speak had worked. This guy must have been an idiot. 

The two armored soldiers holding their weapons to Elysia looked at one another in reaction to Luther’s words. Despite the expression-concealing mask each soldier wore, they somehow shared a look of ‘What the hell is our boss doing?’. 

Elysia clenched her teeth and pursed her lips tightly as if trying to keep something from escaping her mouth. 

“Yeah no harm.” Karissa nodded. “So if you let us go we can stop getting in the way of whatever is happening here.” 

Karissa’s grip on her weapons only grew tighter. “What is happening, anyways?” 

Luther unzipped the lightweight kevlar vest he wore- a far thinner armor than any worn by the warriors taking orders from him.

The vest plopped onto the floor unceremoniously revealing a T-shirt with “Gaia Did Nothing Wrong” written across the chest. 

It seemed like he was just getting more comfortable. 

“What's going on? The world's gone to shit, that's what's going on. Our planet is being killed by a handful of people with extremely stabbable torsos. Buildings that tower over the world, casting shadows that kill the trees. Ancient forests torn down and crops poisoned. Plants dying from the sudden change of climate. Rivers going dry.”

Luther loudly cracked the joints in his neck.

“My name's Luther. Son of Demeter, legacy of Nemesis. We're here for the old hag's cane.” He pointed down the hall in the direction of the cathedral.

“We're here for Eris’s apple of discord.”


End file.
